hiatal hernia

[Dstomel]

anybody have a hiatal hernia? does trumpet playing make it worse? anybody have the surgery to fix it? were you able to play afterwards?

[Bence Jones]

Hi Dstomel,

I am an internist and also a trumpet player with a hiatal hernia. I take medication for acid reflux which helps with symptoms from the hernia. I do sometimes have a little bit of pain if I play hard for a while due to the increase in abdominal pressure generated from playing the horn.

I'm not a surgeon, so I don't know if trumpet playing increases the size of a hiatal hernia over time. If you notice an increase in heartburn after you play the horn and you're not taking any acid blocking medications, you may consider talking to your doctor about starting an H2 blocker or proton pump inhibitor.

Nissen fundoplication is the name of the surgery performed to repair a hiatal hernia. It is commonly performed at all ages but is not without risk and does often fail over time. If your hernia bothers you enough, or your symptoms don't respond sufficiently to medication, you can talk to a general surgeon about the risks and benefits of a Nissen. I imagine you would be able to play again after staying off the horn for a certain number of weeks of post-op recovery.
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M.D.

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