Severe Paraesophageal Hiatal Hernia Repair During a Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery in a Morbidly Obese Patient

Morbid obesity increases the average risk of a patient developing a paraesophageal or hiatal hernia. Paraesophageal hernias (PEH) include several types, and their treatment is indubitably one of the most contentious topics in minimally invasive surgery. Though it is rare for PEH to manifest as a strangulated, volatilized intrathoracic stomach with infection, the increased risk of mortality is an indication for many to pursue surgical repair. Moreover, morbidly obese individuals represent a substantial rate of failure of PEH repairs. The modes of confirmation diagnostics are barium swallow or upper endoscopy. This case study focuses on a 64-year-old female who presented with several comorbidities, was appropriately evaluated for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and was previously identified to have a severe type III PEH with grade IV configuration. Additionally, the pathological finding from the extracted specimen was significant for helicobacter pylori gastritis.