Strangulated umbilical hernia in a child: report of a case.

Most umbilical hernias in children close spontaneously. Complications associated with umbilical hernias are rarely observed during follow-up. We report herein a 5-month-old girl with a strangulated umbilical hernia. Her umbilicus was hard, reddish, and irreducible. Plain radiography of the abdomen showed signs of mechanical ileus. The patient was thus diagnosed to have a strangulated umbilical hernia. A 5-cm section of the ascending colon and a 5-cm section of the terminal ileum, as well as the cecum and appendix, were congested, edematous, and erythematous, and together were enclosed by a firm hernial ring. A closure of the fascial defect and umbilicoplasty were performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. In patients with infantile umbilical hernias, strangulation may occur as the fascial defect decreases in size.