Hiatal Hernia?

[DestinyIsWaiting 21]

Okay folks...I have not been once to initiate a thread on here...but I gotta know if anyone has had issues like I have! I just completed the last test which was my Upper Gi. After not puking that stuff up, the Dr. tell me that I have a hiatal hernia and my esphogus is not as "free flowing" as it should be!!! However, according to the Dr, her feel that is should not be a problem for surgery and has confidence in the Dr that he can deal with that. However...he follows that by...but Im not the bariatirc surgeon!!! Has anyome had "issues" with their upper GI, and if so.....did it slow down the process at all?

[Malexa03 18]

No. I have a large hernia and the surgeon plans to fix it during surgery. It will just add time to the procedure.

[tb21872 31]

I also had a hiatal hernia and they just removed it during surgery. No problems!

[tb21872 31]

Or, rather, they fixed it during surgery!

[Lori228 60]

I just had my surgery last Thursday and also had a large hiatal hernia and he fixed it--bariatric nurse called it two surgeries for the price of one I had a little trouble with hiccups starting the day after surgery that kind of upped the pain that was caused by the irritation on the diaphragm but that is subsiding and it was no problem for the surgeon. It is probably something your surgeon has dealt with before many times.

[VSGJean 68]

I had one and the doctor repaired it during my surgery. I had my surgery in Mexico, so I had to pay an extra $500, which is probably cheaper then having it here in the states after all my co-pays, deductibles and fees

[DestinyIsWaiting 21]

Thank you all for sharing your advice and experiences....Now I can rest until final consult next week!!!!

[nsquared 232]

I was sleeved on Feb 4th of 2013 and also had a fairly significantly sized hiatal hernia repaired during the surgery. I think it may have caused a minor bit of additional tightness but it really did not hinder my recovery at all. I took my narcotics for 3 days post op and went back to work and started my elliptical workouts the following week. For me, it was something the docs talked about but did not truly impact me at all.

[Takingcontrol 467]

Many overweight people have hernias, I did too! They dr just repairs it during surgery...no problem. You will have another incision, but think of it as 2 surgeries for 1!

[linda1000 7]

I was just sleeved on February 25th. I found out about my Haital hernia AFTER surgery. It was absolutley nothing to worry about before or after surgery. It seems to be fairly common. Good luck to you.

[DestinyIsWaiting 21]

Thanks you all....Feeling calmer with every post!!

[BeatrizS1974<3 sleeve 94]

I did not know i had a hiatal hernia as well. My surgeon did not require an upper gi pre-op. My endoscopy was done before i had surgery and that is what they discovered it. They repaired it and then continued on to my sleeve surgery. I never had any kind of symptoms and from what my surgeon said it was one of the biggest my sugeon has repaired.

[PdxMan 4,292]

I also did not have any scopes pre-surgery. I didn't know I had a hiatal hernial until I was in post-op. My surgeon comes on by for the usual post-op visit and he says, "Oh, you also had a hiatal hernia, so while I was in there, I yanked your esophagus back down through your diaphragm and then sewed your diaphragm up tight, so you will experience a little tightness with swallowing for an extra few days."

Since I was self-pay, I asked him about cost and he said it basically takes him about 5 minutes to do and there would be no extra charge.

I had reflux on a daily basis prior and have had no issues since!

But he was right ... swallowing, even liquids, felt like a lump in my throat for about 10 days.

[traceyc 89]

Many overweight people have hernias, I did too! They dr just repairs it during surgery...no problem. You will have another incision, but think of it as 2 surgeries for 1!

I had my hiatal hernia repaired with my sleeve surgery, but did not have an extra incision. That might differ by doctor. I had an upper GI years before my surgery that showed the hernia. They didn't redo the test before surgery, but the doctor said it was pretty substantial. I don't feel it added to my healing time or pain. I had horrible reflux issues prior to surgery and now they are completely gone. I think this has everything to do with getting the hernia fixed. I went through insurance and they did charge for the procedure so I had to pay the co-insurance for that procedure as well, but just the surgeon since the hospital, anesthesiology, etc charge just once no matter what they do once in there.