Causes of unsuccessful surgical treatment of hiatal hernia

Hiatal hernia is the most common type of visceral anatomy disorder, observed in people under 30 years of age in 10%, older than 50 years – in 60%. Four types of hiatal hernias (I–IV) are distinguished by the variant of the disturbances in the relationship between the esophagus, stomach, and diaphragm. Indications for surgical treatment of hiatal hernias are gastroesophageal reflux or anatomical disorders, which have a risk of developing life-threatening conditions (obstruction or necrosis of the stomach). An unresolved problem in this part of surgery is the high rate of disease recurrence, reaching 10–15 – 40–60%. The subjective reasons for the unsatisfactory results of surgical treatment of this pathology include technical errors in performing interventions (insufficient mobilization of the esophagus, stomach, legs of the diaphragm, incomplete excision of the hernial sac) and flaws in perioperative support (insufficient analgesia, vomiting, cough). The objective factors of the repeated displacement of the abdominal organs into the chest are the large size of the hiatal opening (more than 5 cm in maximum dimension), the insufficient mechanical strength of the legs of the diaphragm (hypotrophy, fibrosis) and the shortening of the esophagus (reduction of the abdominal part length less than 5 cm). Each of the noted factors plays a own role, together determining the success or failure of the surgical intervention. Understanding the basic principles and unresolved issues in this field of surgery is a prerequisite for its further development.