Warning: graphic pictures

Doctors remove massive hairball from woman’s abdomen (Picture: Asia Press)

This is what 22 years of chewing your own hair does to your stomach.

And these pictures alone should be enough to make you think twice.

Doctors in India have had the extraordinary task of removing a massive hairball from a woman’s stomach.


The 3kg of hair accumulated in the 31-year-old woman’s abdomen over two decades and was removed at General Hospital in Chandigarh.

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The woman had been ingesting her own hair for 22 years (Picture: Asia News)

People who incessantly chew their own hair are diagnosed with the disorder, Rapunzel Syndrome.

Although extremely rare, this condition can cause severe intestinal problems.



And as the hairball grows larger it can create a tail that hangs down the colon – this is called a trichobezar.

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The hair built up over the years to cause a trichobezar, where a tail of hair hangs down the colon (Picture: Asia Press)

Last month a 19-year-old, also from India, was admitted to hospital with a severe stomach ache.

After a few CT scans, doctors were shocked to find two stone of hair in her stomach.

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