“How long does it take to recover from hiatal hernia surgery?”

Out patient laparoscopic procedure with full recovery in two weeks.

2-3 weeks. Patients will be on a liquid and soft diet for this period of time until they are healed from surgery

It depends on if it is laparoscopic or open. If laparoscopic, usually 1-2 weeks depending on what you do for work. Usually you are back to normal activity at 2 weeks.

Hiatal hernia repair can be performed laparoscopic or open. The preferred procedure is the laparoscopic approach. After surgery, patients are admitted to the hospital. Anti vomiting medicines are given to decrease the incidence of vomiting. Vomiting can cause disruption of the repair. On postoperative day one, a gastrograffin or barium swallow is performed to assess the repair. If the study is satisfactory a clear liquid diet is started. The diet is advanced as tolerated usually in 5-7 days to a full liquid diet, then a regular diet. The patient is discharged on post operative day 2 if no complications. An office visit is scheduled in 2 weeks post discharge. No lifting more than 15 pounds first 2 weeks post surgery, then no more than 30 pounds for the next 4 weeks. The total recovery time is about 4-6 weeks if everything goes well.

Most patients spend 1-2 nights in the hospital, 5-10 business days off from work, and it may take 1-2 months to feel completely normal after surgery. I usually recommend progressing diet slowly from liquids to soft foods to solid foods over a period of about 4-6 weeks.

About 4-12 weeks.