Heartburn – Reflux – hiatal Hernia after weight loss surgery 

Next steps / Options

When experiencing the symptoms or complications described above get help. Find a bariatric surgeon (weight loss surgeon) as soon as possible who does revision surgery. The symptoms will usually continue to get worse not better.

The best studies to diagnose the problem is an UGI (upper gastric swallowing study) and an Upper Endoscopy (scoping of your stomach) to evaluate the function of your weight loss operation and determine what has changed about your weight loss operation since your surgery.

After the UGI and Upper Endoscopy it should become apparent what is causing the problem(s) you are experiencing, and the surgeon will start discussing with you what can and cannot be done to correct or improve the problem.

Your options may include:

  • Changing your medication regimen

  • Staring a new medication

  • Stretching of a stricture

  • Reversing the weight loss operation

  • Revision of an anastomosis

  • • Reducing pouch size / Anastomosis size

  • Converting the weight loss operation to another weight loss operation

  • Undergoing a Hiatal Hernia reduction and repair of the trapped stomach in the chest

One of the most common complaints that lead to revision weight loss surgery is heartburn or reflux. Often the symptoms experienced by the patients are caused by other reasons than acid alone.

The heartburn - reflux like symptoms can be caused by:

  • Acid reflux

  • Herniation of the sleeve or bypass pouch into the chest in such a manner that it is now causing a partial obstruction to the passage of food

  • Bile refluxing up into the stomach and esophagus

  • Stricture / Obstruction formation

  • Torsion (twisting of the sleeve)

Please call and make an appointment to discuss your symptoms, and how to diagnose what is causing your problems.  Only then can we determine what happened and how to help.