After 11 years of swallowing hair, 20-year-old woman undergoes surgery to remove 1.16-kg hairball

A 20-year-old woman in New Delhi had been swallowing her own hair for eleven years, resulting in a massive 1.16-kg hairball filling her stomach, which doctors at a private hospital removed after she developed severe abdominal pain and repeated vomiting.

The woman, a student, had been consuming strands of her own hair since she was around nine years old, a behaviour medically known as trichophagia. She was brought to Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, after suffering severe abdominal pain, nausea and repeated vomiting for three days. She also had a longer history of poor appetite, weight loss and fatigue.

On examination, doctors found a hard lump in her upper abdomen, prompting further investigations. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy confirmed a large trichobezoar, a compact mass formed from swallowed hair, occupying a substantial portion of the stomach. The hairball had taken a J-shaped form and extended from the junction of the food pipe and stomach to the beginning of the small intestine. It had caused severe gastric distension and left very little space inside the stomach for manipulation.

Doctors initially attempted to fragment the hairball using an endoscope but were unable to remove the entire mass through the procedure. They then used laparoscopic guidance to plan a surgical approach. The surgical team made a small abdominal incision to safely release the hairball from the stomach lining and extract it in its entirety. The removed mass weighed 1.16 kg.

Following surgery, the woman’s symptoms improved significantly. Her appetite and ability to tolerate food gradually returned, and she subsequently gained weight and resumed her studies. Doctors said trichobezoars can remain undetected for years because people who consume their own hair may not recognise the behaviour as a medical concern or may not disclose it during routine consultations. They stressed that removing the hairball treats the immediate physical complication but does not address the underlying behaviour, and that early recognition of trichophagia and appropriate psychological support are important to reduce the risk of recurrence.