7:00pm UK, Thursday November 22, 2007

Surgeons have removed a massive 4.5kg hairball from the stomach of a teenager in the United States.

180 hairball found in womans stomach

The hairball: Pic from the New England Journal of Medicine

The 18-year-old went to her doctor after complaining of stomach pains and vomiting.

Doctors carried out a scan and were amazed to find the huge mass of hair blocking her entire stomach.

The woman admitted she had been eating her locks for five years, the New England Journal of Medicine reported.

The publication said the hairball measured 37.5 x 17.5 x 17.5cm.

Once the hairball was removed, the patient was discharged and given psychiatric help.

A year on and the teenager has gained 9kg - and has stopped eating her hair, the journal said.