Nikita N., 14

Nikita Nyambura is a 14-year-old girl living in the Kangemi slums with her grandmother and sibling. Despite the daily hardships and limited resources, she remains enthusiastic about dancing and aspires to become a doctor. Her background highlights significant economic struggles, yet her resilience and talent are evident as she strives for a brighter future. Recently, Nikita developed severe abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fever, and difficulty passing stool. On examination, she had a supra-umbilical swelling, which was confirmed on examination and also through ultrasound to be a strangulated hernia. She shared that this swelling had been recurring for over a year, typically lasting up to two days before subsiding on its own.

Nikita visited our facility from Kangemi slums on 19/07/2025 with complaints of severe abdominal pains associated with nausea and vomiting, difficulty in passing stool, persistent fever and an abdominal swelling around the umbilicus. She was seen by the clinician in charge and diagnosed with strangulated umbilical hernia(supra-umbilical). She was booked for an immediate correction of the defect through herniorrhaphy to avoid further complications. Surgery was successfully done on 20/07/2025 and she was discharged on 22/07/2025. A control call from the facility was done a few days later and found out that Nikita was doing good and was ready to resume when schools reopen.

If a strangulated supra-umbilical hernia is left untreated, it can cause tissue death, severe infection (peritonitis), bowel blockage or rupture, sepsis, and can quickly become fatal. Urgent surgery is required to save life and prevent serious complications.