[Critical evaluation of surgical treatment in slip hiatal hernia]

448 hiatal hernias, admitted in the last 20 years (1974-1998), 431 (96.3%) sliding hiatal hernias and 17 (3.8%) paraoesophageal hernias, are presented. The hiatal hernias were noticed under the well known etiopathologic circumstances: the predominance of the patients belonging to the female sex (66.07%), aged over 40 (83.25%); we also found in the natural history of the patients increasing abdominal pressure factors (10.79%), metabolic and deficiency disturbances (34.19%) or the concomitance of such a diseases, which admits a low trophicity of the connective tissue as a main pathogenic factor (35.12%). 231 (52.56%) cases were pure hiatal hernias and in 217 (48.44%) cases the hiatal hernia was associated with biliary and/or gastro-duodenal lesions, the hiatal hernia being considered as secondary. The clinical diagnosis was suggested by the gastrooesophageal reflux syndrome for the pure hiatal hernias associated with respiratory (30.32%) and/or cardiac (27.4%) signs. In the associated forms with biliary and/or gastro-duodenal lesions, the clinical picture was that of the hiatal hernia in 30.6% of cases and of the associated lesion in the rest. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by x-ray examination in 82.7% of cases; the endoscopy was performed in 159 cases and proved the gastrooesophageal reflux and/or its consequences in 47.2% of cases. 420 (93.75%) cases were uncomplicated and in 28 (6.25%) cases we noticed one of the following complications: upper gastro-intestinal bleeding, incarceration or venous thrombosis of the hernial pouch. 336 (75%) patients were operated on, using a large scale of surgical procedures, surgical indication being established on clinical, radiological and endoscopic criteria, with utmost strictness for pure hiatal hernias (surgical treatment 68.3%) and generously for the associated forms. Both the early and late results were good: the mortality rate of 0.44% and the recurrence rate of 3.97%.