90-Year-Old Man Defies Odds, Survives Rare Hiatus Hernia Surgery

In a recent medical triumph, a 90-year-old man has not only survived but made an extraordinary recovery after undergoing complex laparoscopic surgery to treat a rare and life-threatening condition at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. 

The patient, who suffered from severe difficulty in breathing and eating, was found to have a portion of his stomach pushed into his chest through a small opening in his diaphragm, a condition known as a large hiatus hernia.

The elderly man faced increasing difficulty while eating, experiencing chest heaviness and pain, followed by persistent vomiting. Fearful of the pain and vomiting, he stopped eating, resulting in a weight loss of 5 kg in just 11 days. His condition deteriorated further as he developed breathlessness. Desperate for help, his family consulted multiple doctors, only to be rejected by numerous hospitals citing his advanced age and the high risk of surgery.

After being denied treatment from several hospitals, they went to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. There, Tarun Mittal from the Department of Laparoscopic and Laser Surgery and his team conducted thorough investigations, including an endoscopy, revealing the extent of the hernia: almost half of the patient's stomach had moved into his chest, compressing his lungs and causing breathlessness

Undeterred by the case's complexity, Mittal, along with senior anaesthetist  Ashish Dey, and surgeons Anmol Ahuja, Tanushree, and Karthik, decided to proceed with the surgery. They performed the entire procedure using minimally invasive laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery. During the operation, they encountered severe adhesions around the hernia, which made the procedure even more challenging. The team meticulously performed adhesiolysis to free the hernia, repositioned the stomach back into the abdominal cavity, and closed the defect in the diaphragm, reinforcing it with the latest composite mesh. Additionally, they performed a fundoplication to ensure the best possible outcome.

The surgery was a success. The patient soon began his recovery with remarkable speed, starting on liquids, walking the day after surgery, and being discharged soon thereafter.