Hiatial Hernias

[Dave0168]

Seems like I'm seeing more and more people talking about having their hiatial hernias repaired during their DS.

This is something I'm having done as well and didn't know I had one until my endoscopy.

Is this a fairly common thing to find in obese patients and what should I expect above and beyond the DS surgery?

 

[robs477]

Same thing happened to me, didn't even know I had one and it was repaired during the surgery.

 

[Dave0168]

Same thing happened to me, didn't even know I had one and it was repaired during the surgery.

Yeah, I didn't know I had one either. Did it affect anything with your recovery?

I'm thinking it's fairly minor and just like now, I won't know the difference with the repair.

 

[DianaCox]

Waiting for medical people to correct anything I've said here that might be wrong.

So first, to be clear, a hiatal hernia is a stretched-out or torn hole in your diaphragm, through which your esophagus passes to join the stomach, which is on the abdomen side of the diaphragm. Obviously, you have to have a hole there for the esophagus to go through - but the hole can get too big, stretch or outright rip (my dad had this happen, and his stomach partially slid into his chest cavity - he though he was having a heart attack!).

Intraabdominal pressure from central obesity can cause a hernia; coughing; straining to poop; age; bad luck. Many of us have them fixed at the time of surgery - especially with the sleeve, the smaller bore of the stomach after surgery means it could be easier to slide up through the hole, so it can be important to do so. The Nissan fundoplication repair is done by wrapping some of the top portion of the stomach around the esophageal valve to support it and to make the "knot" at the top bigger (to keep the stomach from sliding up through the hiatus).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiatus_hernia

 

[Will2014]

My doctor, the late Dr. Aceves in Mexico, told us all he'd be repairing any hiatal hernias he found as part of the surgery (and I'm 99% sure he said at no extra charge-but I can't swear to that.). He said the fix takes less than 5 minutes to perform, and that leaving it in place could be detrimental to recovery. One in our little group had the repair, the rest of us didn't. She said she felt no discomfort she could relate to the hernia repair, and she was completely unaware she ever had a problem until the surgery. Some DS surgeons also remove the appendix as part of their procedure-mine did not. A smaller amount of surgeons remove the gallbladder prophylactically to avoid stone formation, again mine did not. These are definitely part of the conversations one wants to have with the surgeon BEFORE you hit the table. Another thing is many doctors provide Actigall post operatively to avoid gall stone formation. This I would recommend, but might recommend waiting until after completing your necessary blood thinner regimen. I was on Xarelto for one month after my surgery. I didn't use Actigall and was ok...but many develop stones and have to have their gall bladder out later. Just another thing to discuss with your doc.

 

[Dave0168]

All great info and now I have some specific questions to ask next week at my pre-op!

 

[robs477]

Did it affect anything with your recovery?
.

I dont think so??? Sometimes I do ask myself if that is part of the reason why my taste buds changed so much and so often or if thats why I get full too quick and dont want to eat for the rest of the day? I dont really think so, but, theres no way to know for sure I guess.

 

[southernlady]

I dont think so??? Sometimes I do ask myself if that is part of the reason why my taste buds changed so much and so often or if thats why I get full too quick and dont want to eat for the rest of the day? I dont really think so, but, theres no way to know for sure I guess.

No hernia here....and while my taste buds didn't change much, I still did (and DO) get full very quickly and it makes the rest of the day a chore to eat.

 

[robs477]

I still did (and DO) get full very quickly and it makes the rest of the day a chore to eat.

Yup...thats exactly whats happening to me also....BUT...after 8 weeks of this, Im finally starting to settle in to a "groove", so to speak. I've learned to just be more patient and listen to my body even though it speaks in forked tongues now quite often...lol, and just go with the flow and be a passenger in the ride.