17-year-old girl named Sweety Kumari from Jharkhand, India, experienced severe stomach pain and was admitted to the hospital. Upon thorough examination, doctors discovered a massive hairball weighing nearly 7 kilograms in her stomach, resulting from her habit of chewing and eating her own hair over many years.

 

This rare condition is known as Rapunzel syndrome, named after the fairy tale character, and has been documented in approximately 90 cases worldwide. The syndrome leads individuals to compulsively pull out and ingest their hair, which accumulates in the stomach since hair cannot be digested. This accumulation can cause significant pain and digestive issues. Sweety underwent a six-hour surgery on August 31, during which the hair mass was successfully removed.

 

Post-surgery, she vowed to abandon this harmful habit. Dr. Sahu, who performed the operation, noted that this was the largest hair accumulation he had encountered in his over 40-year career. The British Medical Journal explains that ingested hair becomes trapped in the stomach's folds, forming a mass covered in mucus, known as a trichobezoar. If the tail of this hair mass extends into the small intestine, it is referred to as Rapunzel syndrome. Fortunately, Sweety is expected to make a full recovery following the successful surgery.