Hiatal hernia advice

I had lapband surgery 7 years ago.  Before the surgery I had lots of GERD problems. My surgeon repaired a hiatal hernia at the time he did the lapband and my GERD was cured!  Or so I thought. About 18 months ago, I started having problems again.  At first Prilosec took care of it, but it's been getting worse. 

About a month ago I started having problems that seemed like over-restriction problems that got worse and worse.  (Note that my last adjustment was over 4 years ago!). Lots of throwing up, always feeling like food was stuck, pain, etc.  Got so bad I could barely swallow my own spit.

on Monday I had the band loosened and all my eating problems went away.  But so did the restriction...eating like "the old days". :-(

I also got an upper GI then met with the new surgeon at the hospital I had my surgery done at.  He told me I have a hiatal hernia again "the size of a lemon".  He recommends I get surgery to repair the hernia.  But all my reading says that they usually just treat hiatal hernias with meds. I asked why surgery....he said because if they tried to tighten the band again, I'd have more problems unless I first had the hernia repaired. 

Im really skeptical. I don't know this doc from Adam.  Has anyone had a recurrent hiatal hernia after banding?  He was unwilling or unable to answer my questions about how the hernia and over-tightening might relate to each other, or why suddenly my band was too tight after 4 years of it being fine.

I'm going to get a second opinion but I also want to hear if anyone else has had these issues.

You don't mention where you did your hiatal hernia research, but I have a LOT of medical problems and all of my Dr.'s tell me never to trust any medical advice on the internet unless it comes from WebMD, or the Mayo clinic's website.  (everything in itallicas I coppied directly from Webmd to make sure i didn't get anything wrong)

 I can't speak to the banding issue, since I had RNY but I do know there are 2 different types of hiatal hernias:  sliding (my grandma had this type of Hiatial hernia for 62 years without any problems)  and paraesophageal (next to the esophagus).

"In a sliding hiatal hernia, the stomach and the esophagus slide up into the chest through the hiatus. This is the more common type of hernia. Generally, sliding hiatal hernias pose no threat to a person's health unless you develop symptoms of GERD."  (This type is usually just treated with medication as your research indicated)

"Paraesophageal hernias are less common but are more cause for concern. The esophagus and stomach stay in their normal locations, but part of the stomach squeezes through the hiatus, landing it next to the esophagus. Although you can have this type of hernia without any symptoms, the danger is that the stomach can become "strangled," or have its blood supply shut off."  --I am guessing it is this type of hernia that you have and that the part of your stomach where the band is was at least a part of the hernia (which would be why it was suddenly too tight after so many years of being fine)  and that is why he wants to surgically repair the hernia, before refilling the band.  

Hi, when the band was first done on people the surgeon didn't look for a hernia. Now the surgeons look for them. They can reoccur. Your surgeon is right when he says if it is not fixed, the acid will cause more problems later. Please get a second opinion and get this taken care of. You will be so glad you did. Mona