I had my Upper GI this morning and the radiologist told me I do have a hiatal hernia but it is small (2 cm). I am not sure if this will make a difference to my surgeon. The radiologist did say that it should not be repaired. Anyone have any expereiince with a hiatal hernia - relative to getting their lap band?

Thanks,

Mary in Las Vegas :crying:

Many lap band patients have them. My husband and I both had hiatal hernias repaired during our lap band surgery. Very easy to do, apparently.

I had lap band surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. When I came out of surgery they told me the doctor had to repair hiatal hernia before he did the lap band. I guess it's not that big of deal. they told me it would have no affect on my healing process. I suggest talking to your doctor since you know about it ahead of time. Good luck!

Pam

I had my hiatal hernia repaired during my procedure. My doctor's standard operating procedure is to repair it if it's an issue. It's supposedly not a big deal at all and once they're in there already.

I had my Upper GI this morning and the radiologist told me I do have a hiatal hernia but it is small (2 cm). I am not sure if this will make a difference to my surgeon. The radiologist did say that it should not be repaired. Anyone have any expereiince with a hiatal hernia - relative to getting their lap band?

Thanks,

Mary in Las Vegas :crying:

yes I had a small one that didn't show up in the GI xray but when having my preop appt I signed paperwork that indicated if found he would repair it. He found one and repaired it. No biggie, just means your reflux will be gone..

I have not been banded yet, however, I do have a hiatal hernia and my dr did tell me that he was going to fix it during surgery.

Hi

I had a small hiatal hernia and my doc stitched it up and repaired while he was in there doing the surgery. Prior to the surgery I had bad heartburn and reflux and he said that was a main cause. With the hernia fixed and the lapband surgery I dont experience that anymore. My doc had said if it was a big hernia, he wouldn't do the lap band and I would have had to have gastric bypass. So I was glad that it was small and it got fixed.

Thanks Everyone. For some reason, I thought any hernia would jeopardize getting the band. I am much relieved. I see the surgeon again in 3 weeks and we'll discuss. Just wanted to allay my fears.

Mary in Las Vegas :crying:

How do you know if you have a hernia? I'm having surgery on Tuesday and they had me sign a paper saying if I have one that they can fix it. Wouldn't I know if I'd had a hernia?

I too had my hernia repaired during my surgery and it didn't bother me at all. I didn't know I had a hernia until after my surgery that's when my Doctor discovered it and I too signed a statement that gave them permission to repair it if needed during the surgical procedure. So rest assured that if it is there and poses a problem as long as you signed a release your surgeon will repair it.

THe only way you would definitely know if you had a hiatal hernia is if you had an upper GI series done. My surgeon requires that pre-operatively. Mine showed I did have a small one. I was worried that it would disqualify me, but it doesn't I think he just wants to know what to expect when he gets in there and that's why he checks first.

Thanks to everyone for allaying my fears!

Mary in Las Vagas

If your surgeon finds one they will repair it. Why did your radiologist say not to?

I think the reason the radiologist said that is because they normally aren't repaired electively unless they are quite large or symptoms are severe. She didn't know I was having the lap band. With the lap band...you definitely have to repair it because that would pose a serious complication if the band slipped into the chest cavity. I am just glad that the lap band surgeons just consider it part of the surgery, if necessary.