Dr. Richard Cattey, MD

First of all, good luck with your upcoming operation! There are several approaches for these operations, depending if the procedure is being done for a cyst, a biopsy, cancer or a transplant.
If the operation is being done laparoscopically or robotically, then there will be several small incisions. If the procedure is being done as an “open” operation, then the incision may be 8-10 inches long. It is usually placed in the upper midline of your abdomen or angled underneath your right rib cage. Your surgeon will be able to tell you the exact placement the next time you see them.

The clear tape is typically called tegaderm. It can be removed after 48 hours and no other dressing needs to be placed. If you got discharge instructions from the surgeon, it may give you more specific information on showering, driving, activity, and follow up.

Unfortunately there are no alternatives if you want to have the hernia to go away except surgery. The rules about hernias is that they never get smaller and never disappear on their own. In time they will get bigger, so you want to take care of it when it is small. For your size hernia, it may be possible to repair it without general anesthesia. It would be performed with local anesthesia and some sedation (called MAC anesthesia) as an outpatient. You would feel better in a few days and not have to worry about it getting bigger or possibly strangulating. I would recommend that you see a surgeon for an opinion. They can go over all the risks and benefits for you.

The options to fix inguinal hernias or umbilical hernias is very straight forward. All are done as outpatient surgery and recovery is fast. The operations are done either open (with an incision) or laparoscopically ( 3 small incisions.)

In general the time to recover from a laparoscopic antireflux operation is 3-4 weeks. Patients should feel the GERD is gone almost immediately, but trouble swallowing, inability to burp and bloating will last nearly a month.

The chances of getting a hernia after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is very low, around 1 %. If the operation is done with an open incision or done robotically the chances may go up because the incisions are bigger.

Most operations to fix GERD are done laparoscopically or robotically. The operation usually takes about 60 to 75 minutes.

Most of the Nissen fundoplications are done laparoscopically. The average stay is 1 night in the hospital.

Not typically. The rules about hernias is that they never get smaller and they never go away on their own. In general it is better to fix it when it is smaller than to let it get very large or risk strangulation of the hernia.

Your diet depends on what laparoscopic procedure you have had performed. Day surgery procedures can resume a normal diet almost immediately. More complicated laparoscopic operations like colon resections, complicated hiatal hernia operations or ventral hernia repairs may take days before a normal diet is resumed.