Hello. I had both an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy done earlier today. The upper endoscopy is for the surgeon who will do the sleeve procedure. They found a hiatal hernia and I am wondering if this will effect whether or not I can have the weight loss surgery.

On another note, they found three polyps during the colonoscopy which makes me a little nervous. That seems like a lot and I'm only 46.

Thank you.

Hernia shouldn’t affect your ability to have the surgery. My surgeon said it was very common and they will fix during procedure.

Aren’t you glad they found theses things now before they became worse & caused pain or more severe health problems.

Finding hernias (& gall stones) isn’t unusual during the pre surgical tests & most are repaired (or removed) during your surgery. Ask your surgeon if your’s will be repaired too.

They usually remove any polyps they find when they do the colonoscopy. Did they remove yours? You will probably need to have regular colonoscopies in the future now they’ve found these.

13 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Aren’t you glad they found theses things now before they became worse & caused pain or more severe health problems.

Finding hernias (& gall stones) isn’t unusual during the pre surgical tests & most are repaired (or removed) during your surgery. Ask your surgeon if your’s will be repaired too.

They usually remove any polyps they find when they do the colonoscopy. Did they remove yours? You will probably need to have regular colonoscopies in the future now they’ve found these.

Oh yes, I agree. What a relief! If I understand it correctly, polyps that are left there potentially can turn cancerous. For anyone reading this, they recently lowered the age for when colonoscopies should start. It's now 45. This is because colon cancer is on the rise, especially in younger people. I guess I'm a little spooked because I had three (they were removed and sent in for testing). That seems like a lot. I also had a rare form of thyroid cancer years ago so maybe I have a little PTSD from that. Less importantly, I'm also bummed because yes, I realize that I will need colonoscopies more frequently than someone who doesn't have polyps. Not what I wanted to hear after that kind of miserable prep process.

Glad to know that it's a possibility that they can remove/repair the hernia during the sleeve surgery and not something that would no longer make me a candidate.

Thanks for replying, Arabesque and Future Sky Diver. I appreciate it.

This year I did the Cologaurd test it was easy no horrid prep and my insurance paid for it.

I am not a DR. but you should ask yours if this is an option for you.

Stool tests, while easy, are less than 50% successful in identifying the presence of polyps where a colonoscopy is almost 100% successful. If you have have had polyps once you are more likely to grow them again & of course are at a much higher risk for developing cancer. Therefore a colonoscopy is the better choice. Plus they usually remove the polyps as they find them.

In Australia they send you stool tests for free when you turn 50. Happy birthday - lol!