It can take six months for a hair ball to develop and there are reports of people coping with the dangerous symptoms of Rapunzel syndrome for 12 months before seeking treatment. But it’s unknown why she had been eating her own (or possibly other people’s) hair in the first place, or for how long. In Rapunzel syndrome, a trichobezoar (hair ball) forms in the stomach.įortunately, this woman made a successful recovery. In some cases the bowel is punctured, which can lead to sepsis (blood infection). Other symptoms of Rapunzel syndrome include a bloated stomach, reduced appetite, weight loss and constipation or diarrhoea. Like 85 to 95% of patients with Rapunzel syndrome, the woman presented to doctors with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. This case, published in the journal BMJ Case Reports, marks the 89th published instance of Rapunzel syndrome in medical literature. Recently, a 38-year-old woman had a 15 x 10 cm hair ball surgically removed from her stomach and a 4 x 3 cm hair ball removed from the top of her small intestine. This causes a trichobezoar (hair ball) to form, which has a long tail extending into the small intestine. Named after this tale, Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare medical condition where hairs the person has eaten become tangled and trapped in their stomach. In the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the trapped Rapunzel lets down her long hair through a tower window so a prince can climb up and rescue her.