I have been reading posts where people have had hernia repairs during lab band surgery and was wondering if you could have one (a hernia) and not know it...I am self pay and don't think i have one but would hate to find out that i did and would have to pay more for my surgery out of pocket then needed.

I had a "small" hernia that was repaired during surgery. I was slightly suprised because since loosing about 85 pounds presurgery I had'nt really had indigestion. Only really noticed an issue if I ate and then did a lot of bending while doing yardwork.

You can definitely have a hernia and not know. Many hiatal hernias go undetected for people's whole life.

Repairing the hernia is probably covered by your insurance if done in the US. Call your insurance company and find out if they cover hernia repair. Then, you may be able to get banded for a fraction of the cost while they are in repairing the hernia.

From what I have read it seems a common practice for surgeons to bill separately for hiatal hernia repair. I was told if I was found to have one I would be charged an extra 3800. and it would be billed separately. I have bad reflux so was pretty sure I had one, and sure enough the endoscopy proved it. I am self-pay for the band, but hopefully my insurance will cover the hernia.

Ok, question here - what exactly is a hernia? What causes it? What are the symptoms?

I was banded on Monday. My doctor did repair a hiatal hernia which we both didn't know I had until the surgery. My doctor said it's a slight tear of the abdominal wall caused by lifting something heavy. He said hernias are insignificant except if you are having this type of surgery. Without repair it could cause acid reflux. Like Btrieger stated you can have one and not know it. It never caused me any pain or discomfort. My surgery was covered under insurance. Not sure if they will pay for hernia repair and extended 28 hr stay.

I had significant pain prior to banding and so wasn't surprised to discover my doc had repaired a hiatal hernia before doing the banding. It was all covered by the original fee (he told me before hand any repairs that needed to be done would be covered) and the relief was incredible.

My surgeon requires an EGD prior to surgery to check for hernias. Had mine Monday, go for follow up on Thursday. He said if I had a severe hernia they could not do lap band but if it was a small one they can repair during surgery.

Ok, question here - what exactly is a hernia? What causes it? What are the symptoms?

Wikipedia explains it rather clearly:

Hiatus hernia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guess what you should hope you have a hernia because your insurance will most likely cover that and you'll pay half of what you would have paid. 8,000 for me instead of $15,000. They split the cost of a lot of the stuff.