hiatal hernia and the affects of weight

Question
My dad had a hiatal hernia, his stomach moved up into his chest and it interfiered with his breathing. He had it repaired when he was in his 70s, it did not go well and he was in intensive care for a year. I have the same situation at 54,(I don't know if it is sliding) and am afraid I will end up in the same situation as my dad. There are times when I eat it feels like the food is not going down and is blocked it causes me to have chest pain and vomiting for about an hour.

I understand weight has a lot to do with hiatal hernias would I be able to have a gastric sleeve during the repair? I have a BMI of 30-32 and will insurance help or cover both.

Answer
Paula,
I did see your other post, indicating you had symptoms very similar to the person from Feb 8 '10.

The symptoms described there are the symptoms of irritation of the esophagus, which may occur after recent surgery, or from reflux, or from a hiatal hernia, or from a combination of those.

Regarding your starting question - part of the answer to your question has to do with the particular anatomy of your hiatal hernia.  Your father probably had a very large and complex hernia, and we may reasonably hope that yours is not that severe or advanced.  Either way, the only way to know for sure is to visit with a surgeon who is experienced in repair of hiatal hernias - a surgeon like this can be recommended by your primary doctor.

Generally, there is no problem doing sleeve surgery and hiatal hernia repair together.  However your BMI of about 31 will probably not qualify for insurance coverage, I'm sorry to say.  For now, I recommend you focus on a thorough evaluation of the hiatal hernia itself.

Best of luck!
Dr JP

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