3kg hairball removed from woman addicted to chewing her hair (photos)

A 31-year-old housewife and mother of three from a small village in Punchkula, near Chandigarh, northern India had a giant 3kg hairball removed from her stomach after more than two decades of chewing her hair.

She wasn’t able to eat or even take a sip of water without immediately vomiting.

Surgeon Dr Hardeep Singh said: "We asked her if she had a habit of chewing her hair, which she denied. But when we got her ultrasound done, it confirmed a huge mass in her stomach that demanded immediate attention."

After surgery, she admitted to chewing her hair since age nine.

"Her stomach and intestines were filled with hair so there was no way she could’ve digested food or water.

"Whatever she consumed was not getting absorbed and she would vomit."

Dr Singh said he’d never seen anything like it. "It was around 40 cm long. She is now having proper meals without any issue and will be discharged from hospital after three days once her stitches are removed."

She suffered from a rare psychological disorder called trichophagia, or Rapunzel syndrome.

Dr Singh said: "This is usually found in young girls where they suffer some kind of depression in their early years.

"Some of them eat chalk, cement, jute and stones. It demands immediate attention. If not noticed, it can be fatal."

Source: UK Mirror