Question:
Has anyone had a problem qualifying for surgery due to a hiatal hernia?

I was told I have a hiatal hernia and if it is too big the Dr. won't do surgery has anyone else come across this problem? And if so how do I fix it. This surgery has cost me a lot of time, money, and nervs to be told over the phone as I was trying to schedule a surgery date(did all other pre-certs)that it might not happen.    — minx7395 (posted on May 17, 2004)

May 17, 2004
I also had a hiatal hernia..Was diagnosed at a different hospital so the surgeon didnt know about it..Well the day before surgery I said..* I better tell you I have a hiatal hernia*..he said..*no problem, we will fix that right up when we do the surgery..I had open, would do it that way again...Not only have I lost well over 100 pounds I no longer have the hernia and all that goes along with it.. best of luck to you..
   — Kathy S.

May 17, 2004
I had a self-correcting hiatal hernia that was discovered during my pre-op tests. It didn't affect my WLS and it wasn't repaired, as it is self-correcting and they can be tricky to repair. Many people have undiagnosed hiatal hernias and never know it (run a Google, it's surprising). As to it being a factor in WLS, I imagine it depends on the hernia.
   — Suzy C.

May 17, 2004
I would imagine that if your surgeon only does LAP proceedures, than it might be an issue. I can't see how a hernia would disqualify you all together though. Worse case scenario- Couldn't you get the hernia fixed and then have WLS? This issue bears more in depth conversation with your surgeon. Good luck to you.
   — LMCLILLY