Large sliding hiatal hernia and scared

AIvie · January 14, 2008

I was banded on 12/31/07. My UGI showed a large sliding hiatal hernia.

MY surgeon did not repair the hernia during surgery because he said he didn't see it at the time. I'm worried because he didn't fix it and I'm scared that it will cause complications with my band. did anyone else have a large hernia that wasn't fixed? I'm afraid it will cause my band to slip or something.

ForwardLeap · January 15, 2008

Hi I was banded on Christmas Eve so we are pretty close in our journey! I had a very large hiatal hernia that slid all over the place. The surgeon actually had to do 2 surgical procedures to fix it. He said he had never seen such a large hernia, and he had fixed hundreds. Mine was repaired laproscopically when my band was placed.

Before surgery, It was hard to breathe, I had sever reflux, and I actually was hospitalized in Oct. they thought I was having a heart attack but it was a combination of my hernia, and gallbladder.

Are you having any difficulty breathing, or chest pains, or pains anywhere? If so I would go to the doctor and talk it over.

I had actually had surgery for my GERD in September, and the surgeons did not repair the hernia. But I had a fall down some steps in October and I think it made things worse. I absolutely insisted that the hernia be repaired when I spoke to my surgeon about lap band. I stressed it was more important to me then even getting the lap band. If I could only get 1 surgery done it had to be the hernia repaired. That is how miserable I was. I had severe pains that would wake me up feeling like someone was stabbing me repeatedly.

If the surgeon did not see it, and if you are not experiencing pain from it many doctors will not operate to fix a hernia. As the doctor who did surgery on me in Sept. would not repair my hernia.

But it is always a good thing to discuss your concerns with your doctor. I am not a doctor, and just because I had surgery does not mean you will need surgery.