Hiatal hernia repair may be recommended when the patient has some of these symptoms:

Severe heartburn inflamation of the esophagus

Severe due to the backflow of gastric fluids (reflux)

Narrowing of the esophagus due to acid damage esophageal stricture

Chronic inflammation of the lungs pneumonia due to frequent breathing in aspiration of gastric fluids

A hiatal hernia that raises the risk of the stomach

Gas bloat, which causes difficulty burping or vomiting and results in bloating after meals.

Pain with swallowing occurs in 5 – 40% of patients, but improves over the first 3 months in almost all patients.

Damage to the stomach or esophagus (rare)

Recurrence of the hiatal hernia

TREATMENT

Laparoscopic hernia repair is a newer method for repairing an inguinal hernia in adults. Newer hernia repair involves minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques. Laparoscopic techniques of hernia repair are especially attractive when patients are dealing with recurrent hernias or bilateral inguinal hernias.

The mesh is either placed over the defect (anterior repair) or more preferably under the defect (posterior repair). Evidence suggests that these Tension Free methods have the lowest percentage of recurrences and the fastest recovery period compared to older suture repair methods. Increasingly, some repairs are performed through laparoscopes.

About your hernia and laparoscopic repair :

Approximately 600,000 hernia repair operations are performed annually in the United States. Some hernia repairs are performed using a small telescope known as a laparoscope.

What are the advatages of laparoscopic hernia repair?

Laparoscopic Hernia Repair is a technique to fix tears in the abdominal wall (muscle) using small incisions, telescopes and a patch (mesh).

Objective outcomes after laparoscopic giant hiatal hernia repair

Introduction: Laparoscopic giant hiatal hernia (GHH) (> 50% of stomach above the diaphragm) repair is associated with a 12–40% early recurrence rate.

Methods: 43 patients underwent GHH laparoscopic repair (34 virgin, 9 reoperative) with esophageal lengthening. A totally intraabdominal wedge Collis gastroplasty (using simplified EndoGIA stapler techniques) combined with Nissen fundoplication was performed. A validated questionnaire assessed functional outcomes at a 7.8 month median (range, 2–42). Postoperative esophagram objectively evaluated for possible hiatal hernia recurrence at a 7.5 month median (range, 1–26).

Results: Perioperative complications occurred in 9% (4/43) of patients: 1 esophageal leak, 1 respiratory failure, 1 gastric-bloat readmission, and 1 pneumothorax. There was 1 (3%) miniscule, asymptomatic radiographic recurrence.

Conclusions: Consistent application of specialized techniques in minimally-invasive GHH repair yields a very low rate of early recurrence.

What is a hernia?

A hernia is a protrusion of a tissue structure, or part of an organ through the muscle tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained. A hernia occurs when the inside layers of the abdominal muscle have weakened, resulting in a bulge or tear. Both men and women can get a hernia.

The balloon going through the hole is like the tissues of the abdomen bulging through a hernia. Serious complications from a hernia result from the trapping of tissues in the hernia a process called incarceration.

What are the symptoms of a hernia?

This signs and symptoms information for Hernia has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Hernia signs or Hernia symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Hernia may vary on an individual basis for each patient.

Treatment

Laparoscopic hernia repair is a newer method for repairing an inguinal hernia in adults. A Instruments to repair the hernia are inserted through other abdominal incisions. Only umbilical hernias go away without treatment. Newer hernia repair involves minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques. Laparoscopic techniques of hernia repair are especially attractive when patients are dealing with recurrent hernias or bilateral inguinal hernias.

The mesh is either placed over the defect (anterior repair) or more preferably under the defect (posterior repair). Evidence suggests that these Tension Free methods have the lowest percentage of recurrences and the fastest recovery period compared to older suture repair methods. Increasingly, some repairs are performed through laparoscopes.