I was told I have a hiatal hernia. Doesn that need to be fixed?
Many patients have been told that they have a hiatal hernia and what is really meant is that they have GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease. Unlike groin hernias, most hiatal hernias do not cause pain, but instead aggravate reflux. In cases where surgery is indicated for severe GERD, the hiatal hernia is repaired during the surgery. The Esophyx procedure, which is limited to patients with a small hiatal hernia, stabilizes the hiatal hernia during deployment of the plicating devices.
