Hiatal hernia surgery
- Thread starter Rage85
- Start date
I haven't been accepted for it yet but fingers crossed, will cost me 7k going private if NHS turn me down!
Wait how the NHS turn you down for hernia surgery where your stomach is on the wrong side of your diaphragm!?
Apparently they sometimes do if it is under 5cm, .mine is 4cm...
Associate
Not had it done but at one point thought it might be an option. I got the impression that it isn't a magic fix so hope your GP / consultant have discussed the pros and cons plus any alternatives (e.g. losing any excess weight) with you.
AIUI, it's when the top bit of your stomach slides up through the diaphragm, allowing acid to leak up the oesophagus. It's not that your whole stomach is in the wrong place.
Yesh I know its part of your stomach not alm of it same as its only part of your intestines not your whole intestines that have popped out in a normal hernia. Still doesn't change the point.
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Associate
I think it's a bit different to other hernias where a loop of intestine gets through a sheet of muscle. It's not the top bit of stomach sliding up that's the problem, it's that it causes the valve through the diaphragm to leak stomach acid (which is a miserable experience apart from the damage being done). If drugs (normally PPIs) are safe and effective at suppressing the acid production, and surgery isn't always a perfect repair for the valve then I can understand why surgery isn't offered as the first option.
A bit of your ogan is on the wrong side of the muscle seems like an nhs job. "Missble experience" being what we all pay to avoid.
If it was he didn't like his belly so wanted a bit of lipo sure. But it's not
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Seems ridiculous doesn't it.. Lets wait until the hole gets bigger......
Is the thought that if its small it may fix itself?
Ah man I should get this done but abit of a chicken since the horrific camera stuffed down throat in 2014. There’s nothing like have a tiny Indonesian lady stroke your head as your eyes stream water and a doctor pumps air into your stomach to get the steal. Would definitely mark that as the most disturbing thing to ever happen to me.
Co-worker had it done, he highly recommends it as said it was transformative for him but then it was far worse than mine.
Co-worker had it done, he highly recommends it as said it was transformative for him but then it was far worse than mine.
My mum had the surgery done but they made the wrap too tight. She was miserable and never got it fixed as she had other unrelated issues that killed her off.
If I ever needed it (family history, ugh) I would find a surgeon with an impeccable track record and insist on toupet. There’s no doubt that in serious cases the surgery can be life-changing.
I’ve got a small mixed hernia but am managing it well with dietary habits and also found a chiropractor who deals with it and has given me exercises, stretches etc. There was no way I was doing omeprazole long term. Losing weight has really helped. I no longer have reflux!
Good luck whatever you do
If I ever needed it (family history, ugh) I would find a surgeon with an impeccable track record and insist on toupet. There’s no doubt that in serious cases the surgery can be life-changing.
I’ve got a small mixed hernia but am managing it well with dietary habits and also found a chiropractor who deals with it and has given me exercises, stretches etc. There was no way I was doing omeprazole long term. Losing weight has really helped. I no longer have reflux!
Good luck whatever you do
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I seem to remember being told that they won’t normally refer anything under 5cm, regardless of misery.
I see the NHS guidance is to fix umbilical hernias in adults, as it will cause problems eventually, but that hiatal ones don't necessarily need treatment.
With a mixed hernia, If the fundus is pinched then it can hold the lower oesophegal sphincter valve open causing reflux. You can also have the blood supply to part of your stomach cut off (strangulation) which feels like being stabbed or a heart attack. This can potentially be serious and require emergency surgery so the “wait and see” guidance confuses me a bit.
It’s something a lot of people have in middle age but can cause no real symptoms. Sometimes it’s absolute misery though. Feeling like there’s a golf ball in your throat where the oesophagus is not in a normal position etc…
There are a lot of videos on YouTube where people have documented their recovery. OP go have a look
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I could write a very long post about this but will save that for another time.
I was in and out of A&E with abdominal pain/cramps usually when eating at random times. The first xray I had showed the hernia but didn’t look serious enough to do anything about - I usually felt fine a few hours later after vomiting.
Fast forward to November and I was blue lighted to hospital on a friday morning shortly after having breakfast and the pain started - think I managed a whole tank of gas and air on the way!
A number of tests and checks, including another attempt at having an endoscopy where they couldn’t even get the camera down and a CT scan, showed that my stomach was completely through my diaphragm and pressing against my heart, so ECG readings were showing that I was having a heart attack!
By this point I was vomiting every 3 hours or so, despite not having eaten for a few days, and the CT scan showed that they had to operate otherwise my body would give up and my heart would stop due to the pressure from the stomach - the surgeon told me afterward that another 24 hours and it was likely I wouldn’t have survived!
Recovery was slow, took me a few days before I could physically get out of bed but that’s because I’d had such a rough time. I know of a few people, including my late mum, who had the surgery privately and were able to go home a day or 2 later.
You would be on a liquid only diet for up to 6 weeks and depending on how big a mesh stent they put around your gullet, you’ll have to eat at a reduced rate for the rest of your life - I’ve gone from being the fastest eater to the slowest now!
2017 was another **** year for me but I got through it and was lucky in a way to have it dealt with before Covid. The surgeon that fixed me has since left the UK to go and work in Quatar.
Damn, that's basically the absolute worst-case scenario. I suspect my sister is going the same way based upon her symptoms.
Glad you got through it.