Woman had more than 25cm of hair in her intestines

A 24-year-old woman died of complications arising from a hairball that extended more than 25cm from her stomach into her intestines, an inquest heard.

Surgery was recommended for Karen Carroll from Portland Square, North Circular Road, Dublin 1, in 2009 but this did not happen and she died five years later.

The hairball, known medically as trichobezoar, is associated with a rare condition called Rapunzel syndrome which results from the ingestion of hair.