Who all here have a hiatal hernia?

Who on this board has one and what have you done to fix or control it?

I have one & will be having surgery next week to correct it & do the fundoplication

My herina is another reason why I avoid the fundo, with the possiblitiy of getting the herina again but worst. I know some or maybe most don't but there are those that do.

Alice,

The dr's tell me my herina is small (I'd have to look at my records) but it gives me hell. How long ago was your nissen? Are you on any meds for reflux now?

MMM,

I to would like to hear stories of small herina repair success or fail. I'm sure a lot are successful but I know I've read that a good number of repairs fail over time, the hernia makes everthing worst. The problem is if you have a hernia, your les is shot, and your diaphram is super weak. It only makes sense over time the repair will fail and the herina will be back unless you get lucky.

My Toupet (partial-wrap Nissen) was 2009. I haven't needed reflux meds since then. Yay! A well-done Nissen, along with the hernia repair, should be good for many years. There's no guarantee about not needing acid reducers, but my doc's group (it's not a one-man operation) claims a high 90's% success. They've been doing it since the early 1990s.

Hiatal hernia and lower esophageal weakness are not related, although they can occur together. A small hernia is common, even more likely than not, in people as they age. A small one shouldn't cause a problem though and most people have no idea they have a hernia. If you haven't had a barium swallow in the last couple years it might be a good idea to check the size. The size can't really be determined just from looking inside the esophagus. Anything over a couple of centimeters needs to be repaired if you are having a wrap. You don't want the nice new wrap to be able to migrate into your chest.

I had a tiny hernia for a long time which was not a problem, but my valve was very weak, and I had poor motility in my esophagus due to polio as a child, causing mild reflux. A bad accident shoved my stomach into my chest where it got stuck - GPEH.

I was able to stop my stomach from refluxing when I found, with the help of my allergist, that my food allergies/intolerances were triggering it. (See many posts by searching with the search box at the top of the page.) I still had fluid leaking upward at night, but PPIs controlled the acid and I had no problem as long as I didn't eat before bedtime. I had no need of surgery until the wreck.
(Search for "cardioesophageal reflex" and "linked angina." Yes, that's reflex with an e, not reflux.)

My gastroenterologist didn't believe that food triggers had anything to do with reflux and my cardiologist was skeptical too. My allergist though, has seen many cases like mine, and the research is there. I can't reflux now, but my heart can still react to triggers. Tachycardia was a symptom that often followed reflux when I consumed too much of my allergen (sulfites in my case), and it still happens. A food sensitivity doesn't go away after surgery. That's why it's a good idea to keep a food journal to see if you have a food trigger.

The first thing was to go in laparoscopically, the usual 5 little incisions, and pull my stomach down out of my chest. They had to free up the esophagus, basically dissect it from the neck so it would come down far enough into the abdomen so they could do the wrap.

After the wrap was done they sewed the diaphragm around the esophagus. There are a bunch of videos online you can watch. It's just as you would imagine, straightforward, nothing weird.

I've forgotten where the stomach was attached, either the diaphragm or the chest wall. This helps keep it in place in case of vomiting (actually just heaving since I can't really vomit anymore due to the wrap). This doesn't cause me any trouble whatsoever. I do keep some Zofran with me in case of severe nausea since nothing will come up if I try to vomit. No big deal.

I had a small hernia that was repaired during my 1st nissen in '06. That original repair is still holding even after drastic surgery to save my esophagus after it was tore. Both surgeons who did my redoes said it was still holding and looked good.
I also have had some severe dry heaving in the last 6 years or so. I guess my 1st surgeon did do 1 thing correct.

Take care,
Bill

They put in permanent sutures into the diaphragm close it, but only close it enough to help with reflux and not put too much pressure to cause problems with swallowing.
Just about everyone has a Hiatal Hernia to some extent and most don't ever know it.

Take care,
Bill