We are publishing a preview of part of an article in the new Corriere Salute. You can read the full text on the free issue on newsstands Thursday 27 May or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera
L’hiatal hernia very common and is often found accidentally during tests done for other reasons. Its presence can in fact go completely unnoticed due to the absence of symptoms. However, not infrequently this transposition of part of the stomach into the chest can favor gastroesophageal reflux with its annoying disorders. What is a hiatal hernia? A hiatal hernia is the migration of a portion of the stomach into the chest, through a hole in the diaphragm called the esophageal hiatus. Maurizio Vecchi, full professor of gastroenterology at the State University of Milan and director of the complex operating unit of gastroenterology and endoscopy of the Policlinico di Milano -. Its causes are not clear, but it has been seen that some factors can favor it, starting with advancing age because muscles tend to reduce their efficiency. An excess of intra-abdominal pressures may also be involved, as can occur in those suffering from marked constipation or during pregnancy.
What does his presence entail?
It may not involve anything. Sometimes, on the occasion of examinations made for other reasons, we find patients with even quite voluminous hernias who do not have any problems. Very often, however, the hiatal hernia accompanies or favors the gastroesophageal reflux. The first reason for accessing us is linked to the fact that an important anti-reflux mechanism is lost due to the connections between the esophagus-gastric joint and the diaphragm: the acid that arrives from the stomach, and sometimes also the bile that arrives in the stomach duodenum (perhaps due to imperfect motility), they tend to rise towards the esophagus because the pressure inside the abdomen is greater than the intrathoracic one. Another reason why reflux can be favored is that there is a small amount of gastric mucosa that is even intrathoracic: it produces acid above the diaphragm, exposing the esophagus more directly to its erosive action. In these cases, the typical symptoms of reflux often appear: burning behind the breastbone and regurgitation.
You can continue reading the article in Corriere Salute on newsstands for free on Thursday 27 May or in Pdf in the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.
May 26, 2021 (change May 27, 2021 | 12:24)
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