In summary, the surgical implications of hiatal hernia are represented by those instances in which the hernia, by reason of its mechanical effects, produces symptoms which may incapacitate the patient or in which ulceration occurs in the hernia and produces pain or bleeding. Patients with erosive esophagitis are also candidates for surgical treatment since this condition does not respond well to medical measures.
Presented at the 8th Hahnemann Symposium on Medical Considerations in the Surgical Patient, Dec. 14, 1962, Philadelphia, Pa.