Girl With Rapunzel Syndrome Has Stomach Surgery After Eating Hair

A girl in the UK with Rapunzel syndrome underwent stomach surgery to remove a 19 inch long hairball.

The state of mental health causes a person to compulsively consume their own hair, resulting in a blockage of the intestines, or in the adolescent’s case – a tear in the stomach, according to ScienceAlert.

After two fainting spells left the 17-year-old with a bruised face, she was administered to a hospital where professionals ruled out head trauma due to her enlarged abdomen and complaints of stomach pain.

A CT scan revealed a large lump inside her “grossly distended stomach” and a tear in the lining.

Doctors also found that the girl had a history of trichotillomania, which causes a person to pull their hair out, and trichophagia, which is compulsive eating of hair. Both conditions are extremely rare, depending on the outlet. 0.5% and 3% of people suffer from trichotillomania and only 10% to 30% of these cases will develop trichophagia. And only 1% of people with both will suffer from Rapunzel syndrome.

After doctors removed the hairball – which had “cast a whole stomach cast” – they fixed the tear. She then received psychiatric treatment and was sent home seven days later.

She would now have “made good progress thanks to dietary advice” and the help of a therapist.