{"id":8910,"date":"2025-04-01T15:09:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/?p=8910"},"modified":"2025-04-01T15:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T12:10:37","slug":"a-race-against-time-to-save-the-lungs-from-a-hijab-pins-hidden-peril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/2025\/04\/01\/a-race-against-time-to-save-the-lungs-from-a-hijab-pins-hidden-peril\/","title":{"rendered":"A race against time to save the lungs from a hijab pin’s hidden peril"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The day started\nlike any other for 21-year old Ms Fauziya Wanjiru (not her real name). She\nprepared to open her salon business in Nairobi\u2019s Kawangware area as usual.\nAdjusting her hijab, she secured it with a pin\u2014a daily routine for modesty and\nstyle. But in a split second, the unthinkable happened. The tiny pin slipped\nand lodged itself in her throat. Her grandfather, panicked and desperate,\nrushed her to a nearby healthcare facility. An initial chest X-ray revealed a\nshocking truth: the pin had moved beyond her throat and lodged itself deep in\nher right diaphragm, turning an innocent accessory into a life-threatening\nemergency.<\/span><\/p>

Unfortunately, the local facility lacked the expertise and equipment\nneeded to retrieve it safely. Fauziya was referred to Kenyatta National\nHospital (KNH) for advanced care. At KNH, a multidisciplinary team of\nspecialists quickly stepped in to save her life. Led by Dr. Wanjiku Kagima, a\npulmonologist and Head of the Medicine Department, and supported by Dr. Andrew\nOwuor, a fellow pulmonologist, and Dr. Sekwena, a cardiothoracic surgeon, the\nteam prepared for a delicate bronchoscopy procedure. \u201cThe patient was received\nat our Accident & Emergency Department, where she was stabilized and\nadmitted to a surgical ward,\u201d recounted Ms. Joan Kagema, a Senior Nursing\nOfficer at the Respiratory Diseases Unit. \u201cFurther tests confirmed that the pin\nhad lodged in her right lung, making immediate intervention critical.\u201d In a\nprocedure lasting less than an hour, the team successfully removed the foreign\nobject using a flexible bronchoscope and rat tooth forceps. The bronchoscope\u2014a\nthin, lighted tube equipped with a camera\u2014allowed the team to navigate\nprecisely to the right lung, while the specialized forceps firmly grasped and\nremoved the pin. \u201cImmediately after the procedure, the patient regained\nconsciousness and was closely monitored in the ward. She was discharged the\nfollowing day,\u201d added Ms. Kagema. Bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive technique,\nhas revolutionized the removal of foreign objects from the respiratory system.\nUsing either a rigid or flexible bronchoscope depending on the case, medical\npractitioners can visualize and navigate airways to remove obstructions or take\nbiopsies with minimal risk and faster recovery times. Rat tooth forceps, like\nthose used in Fauziya\u2019s case, are specially designed to grasp dense tissues or\nobjects firmly without slipping. KNH\u2019s success in Fauziya\u2019s case underscores\nits leadership in innovative medical solutions. \u201cThis was truly a team effort,\u201d\nsaid Dr. Kagima. Alongside the pulmonologists, the nursing team\u2014 Senior Nursing\nOfficers Mr. John Ndung\u2019u and Ms. Joan Kagema\u2014played a critical role in\nensuring Fauziya\u2019s comfort and safety throughout the process. Today, Fauziya\nhas returned to her passion\u2014caring for her clients\u2019 hair at her salon in\nKawangware. The once life-threatening hijab pin is now a distant memory, thanks\nto the expertise and advanced technology at KNH. This ground-breaking procedure\nnot only saved her life but also highlighted KNH\u2019s commitment to elevating\nhealthcare standards and offering patients cutting-edge solutions for better\noutcomes.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day started like any other for 21-year old Ms Fauziya Wanjiru (not her real name). She prepared to open her salon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8910"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8915,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8910\/revisions\/8915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knh.or.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}