Hiatal Hernia repair

[GingerSlim 128]

Surgery is on July 22nd & Dr. will also be doing a hiatal hernia repair in addition to sleeve. Has anyone else been through this? And how was the recovery? Did it add more time off of work? How was pain level?

[Shiner86 60]

I Don't think there was any extra pain, once the gas pain was gone it was pretty smooth sailing. I had both done on June 11th. Ever so often I get a slight pain in my left side but I am told by month 2 that goes away.

[GingerSlim 128]

I Don't think there was any extra pain, once the gas pain was gone it was pretty smooth sailing. I had both done on June 11th. Ever so often I get a slight pain in my left side but I am told by month 2 that goes away.

Did heartburn go away after surgery?

[Shiner86 60]

I didn't have any heartburn before (my hernia was very small he said) and I don't have any heartburn after. Only had to take carafate after for one week.

[Hoginona04 61]

I had a hiatal hernia repaird during my surgery. I didnt even know I had one, never had any issues. This is coming from someone who ate every spicy food available and uses a bottle of Tobasco sauce every 4-5 days. Kind of makes me wonder if it was really there or just a add on.... hummmm..... Anyway, no issues at all. Had the surgery and felt like normal 3-4 days later.

[katonaboat 44]

I had a hernia repaired with my surgery. I think it made it a little more difficult to swallow for about a week after, but other than that, I don't think it made much difference in the recovery. My discomfort didn't seem to be any worse than those who just had the sleeve done. I had nightly acid reflux and frequent heartburn prior to the surgery and I haven't experienced it since. Very grateful for that!

[maxcimax 220]

I had surgery 5/12/14 for the sleeve & to fix a good size hiatal hernia. I did not have any issues with the surgery. Very little pain & no gas. I consider myself very fortunate. I am 8 weeks post op & just noticed that my voice isn't raspy anymore. This was from the hernia. I also breathe better because the hernia pushed up against my lungs. I'm still on a CPAP & oxygen 24/7. I hope that all changes with the weight loss.

Good luck with your surgery. If you do what your surgeon & NUT tell you to do you will do fine. I'm amazed at the different instructions given to people. I have such a good surgeon & I'm very happy I chose to do this. I still have issues with fluids but I see a lot of people do.

[Krispiekreme 22]

Surgery 06-24-14, had a large hiatal hernia repair and no problems. No heartburn or acid reflux. But surgeon wants me to take Nexium for 6 mo.

I agree with the previous posts, no difference.

[carstanger 346]

I had a large hiatal hernia repaired and a non functioning gall bladder. Didn't know I had problems with either but was on omeprozole for GERD. I did fine after surgery. Sip and walk!! I was 75 when Zi had surgery and am over 29 months out. Down from 225.5 to 122. Feel great. Off several meds but still need bipap!

[Bob2013 326]

I had a fairly large Hiatal hernia repaired during sleeve surgery. It shouldn't cause any added length in recovery time. The hernia repair is just stitches, tightening the opening where your esophagus passes through the abdominal wall. There is no cutting or anything like that.

As for the heartburn/gerd/acid reflux.. I had severe problems with it prior to surgery. If I ate the wrong foods, heartburn. If I ate within 4 hours of bedtime I would be woken up from aspirating on my stomach acid. I actually had to go to the hospital once in the middle of the night because I inhaled a good amount and had trouble breathing.

After the sleeve surgery which the hernia was also repaired. I have had 0 instances of any sort of heartburn/acid reflux. None at all.

[GingerSlim 128]

Great to know! I feel so much more at ease about it.

Thanks everybody!

[SeattleJane 11]

Get a heat pad for the shoulders. The air will hurt and your shoulders will hurt. The heat is awesome on it and will let you sleep well. Make sure it auto turns off. They are cheap at local drug store or Amazon. I had a huge hiatal hernia repair and my only pain was from it with the shoulders. I say buy heat pack and you will not go wrong. Also take your anti acid like the doctor says, if he does not give you one ask for one.

[SeattleJane 11]

Also since you are a women ask for a lower incision as I could not were a bra for 3 weeks while it healed. So have baggy shirt for drive home from surgery.

[ChavaBling 145]

I have had GERD since I was in my teens and have been on 20 mg omeprazole (Prilosec) daily for 9 years. I had my hiatal hernia repaired during my surgery. Since surgery, I have had to double my daily dose to mg (20 mg/2x/day). If I don't take this double dose, I get extremely painful & annoying acid reflux (even with the hernia repair). My surgeon advised me prior to surgery that 8% of sleeve patients with previous GERD have to have gastric bypass within the first three years to correct their extreme acid problems. I have never heard this statistic anywhere else, so take it with a grain of salt. My surgeon was very clear that the hernia repair does not guarantee a cure for acid reflux...I'm hoping it gets better.