recovery for hiatal hernia fundoplication surgery

Wendy, welcome.
Look up online lists of "gassy foods." When we get the surgery many of us can't burp for a while, so we feel full. For me this lasted several months, but not forever. Some people recommend walking or gas-x - check out the search box at the top of the page. You should follow your doctor's directions, but ask about trying a couple of bites of beans if you take Beano or something.

For the weight loss, try eating more often. I didn't lose any weight at all, but I ate at least a little every couple of hours until I was able to eat larger quantities.


40thanniversary, welcome also.
The pain in the shoulder comes with just about every laparoscopic abdominal operation. It's from the gas that they use to inflate us like balloons so they can see what they're doing. They deflate us, but not all the gas gets removed and it rises to the shoulder. It should go away soon. You can find all sorts of threads and posts about this - see the search box.

Have you seen your surgeon for your post-op appointment? That usually is about 2 weeks after surgery.

IMHO - having travelled to China from the west coast many times - and myself being 3 weeks since surgery, I wouldn't go that soon.

You're not going to be anywhere near 100%, what food you can east will still be an issue, you're probably going to have issues with gas, swallowing, etc. for a while. Everyone heals differently but 2 weeks is really pushing things.

Aside from the aforementioned you may need different RX's and medical care depending upon your situation. In my case I was off of pain meds within the 1st week and only needed meds for nausea once but lots of people do have to keep taking these meds for a while.

Assuming you've been to China and the areas you're going to visit before then you probably know how to get medical care while there....if not then you should find out in advance just in case you need a doctor/hospital.

Post Edited (tde44) : 8/17/2015 10:24:36 AM (GMT-6)

I'm 7 weeks post-surgery (LNF) and hiatal hernia repair and I stayed off work the entire 7 weeks and so glad I did. Going back to work tomorrow. I'm 68 and am doing great except for residual chest pain at wrap site which I'm told is entirely normal and should dissipate over the next few weeks as my body rids itself of trapped gas.

I had my follow-up appt. today and got my official 'discharge' the go-ahead to resume all normal activities and any foods that I can handle. Still being careful and moving slowly with food. Very little wine, no chocolate or tomatoes just yet, but SOON!

I found that I really needed 7 weeks off work to get proper rest, gain my strength and stamina and I'm doing 5-6 walks per week of a mile each.

I'm really glad I had this surgery and will posting my 'Recover Journal' soon, so that those that are stressed by still having pain will know that it's to be expected for many of us. The best part is NO MORE ACID REFLUX!

Hope this helps and happy healing to you all!

I'm glad this forum is up, appreciate advice & lessons learned. 16cm of my stomach is in the esophagus, have Barretts, and of course a good size hiatal hernia. I've been accepted as a patient by UCI Orange Medical Center, and just changed MD to stay with same PA who understands this. So for the next several months I'll listen to what y'all are saying, so I'll be as prepared as possible dor the repair & recovery.

tonya946,
You are only a few weeks post-op and what you are reporting is normal.

It sounds like you should still be on a LIQUID DIET, as there is a lot of swelling taking place which is also normal. The pain you are reporting is the gas that has not yet dissipated from your surgery, where they fill you with co2 so they can see what they're doing with surgery.

Back off on solid foods and eat clear liquid broths and strained creamed soups, mashed potatoes, gravy, yogurt, all soft easy-to-swallow and in SMALL portions. No lifting and REST when you feel tired.

I felt the same as you at this point in my recovery. It's not an easy recovery and do some more reading on this forum and you will feel much better about having the surgery.

I am post op 2 weeks and I am 43 yrs old. My surgery was laparoscopic and they did wrap my stomach. I think the worst part of the 1st week after surgery was how achy I felt and the horrible pain my shoulders from the CO2. My mom was here and she would just do a light kneading massage and that helped a lot. I also felt very bloated after eating small amounts of food (liquid diet). The 5 incisions for me were no big deal.

They discharged me and said full liquid diet for 2 weeks, but when I met with my surgeon 11 days out he said I only needed to do liquid for 2 days and soft foods for another few days and then on to solids (avoid meat and bread still), but I am happy for this mis-hap there, because sometimes I stopped even full liquid and went back to clear liquid diet because I felt like it was too much. Frozen yogurt has been a life saver for me since you can get it in lots of flavors from yogurt shop and I feel like it makes my stomach feel better. Still lost 10 lbs.

Now day 12 and I am going to celebrate with 1 cup of pasta tonight. YEAH! (hope it goes well) I do still have bloating but not as bad. I still don't eat much, but now I am used to it. I don't have a lot of lethargy, but I have been eating cream of wheat (made with whole milk) almost everyday which has a lot of iron and I have 1 coffee and I stopped the pain killers early on because they were giving me rebound headaches (Tylenol 3). I was never constipated and I had diarrhea maybe twice.

I feel like my recovery has been pretty good, and I definitely needed the whole 2 weeks off of work. I had moments I thought I could go back to work, but I was wrong. I am practicing today sitting for long periods of time. Someone said they feel like they shouldn't eat when they are at work and I can understand that because you just feel bloated and sitting is uncomfortable.

Overall at this point, I am glad I had the surgery. Good luck to everyone.

Hello All,

I just registered today and am posting on behalf of my mom. She had a Hiatal Hernia Repair done on 11/18/15. (not laparoscopic) She is on a full diet, but is really struggling with the healing process. She had tubes in to support her stomach and got them removed on Thursday 12/10/15. They did not cover up the holes where the tubes were except with a little bit of gauze. One of the holes she had quite a bit of drainage. This had caused the area around the hole to be very red and tinder. She cries out in pain every time it drains. It drains if she eats or drinks(of course). I fear she isn't eating or drinking because of this. Even when she moves, it hurts and drains. She has a bad back so she is in a lot of pain with that also.
Does anyone have any suggestions for her? Mostly with healing of the holes. She called the nurse/doctor on Friday and they said to give it a few days to a week. All they suggested was protein. Right now she is putting a gauze on it and putting a bit of pressure on it. She doesn't want to tape gauze on there because when it soaks up the drainage it hits the raw skin and it hurts a lot. I feel so bad for her and want to help her. Thank you so much in advance for any help.

What a great resource! I've met with my surgeon and am scheduling my laparoscopic repair done soon. This info helps me considerably as I'm planning my time off, etc. I'll listen to my doctor for sure but thanks for all of this information. I'll post my recovery details and I'm sure I'll be rereading this entire thread during my journey.