Chinese girl, 5, has surgery to remove hairballs from her stomach

A five-year-old girl in Qingdao, Shandong province, has had surgery to removes balls of hair that were taking up about two-thirds of her stomach, the Qilu Evening News reports.

The unnamed girl, who often experienced stomach aches, was taken by her parents to Qingdao Women and Infant’s Hospital earlier this month.

The doctors discovered the hairballs and she was diagnosed with allotriophagy, a craving to eat unusual substances.

According to a doctor, the hair stones filled about two-thirds of the girl’s stomach.

“She had probably eaten her hair for six to 12 months,” the doctor said.