Hiatal Hernia Surgery - Symptoms, Treatment & Expert Care

There are two main types: sliding hiatal hernias and paraesophageal hiatal hernias. Most people have the sliding kind, which is type 1. All of the other three types are paraesophageal hernias.

• Type 1: Type 1 — also called a sliding hiatal hernia — is by far the most common type, accounting for 95% of all hiatal hernias. In this version, the part of your esophagus that connects to your stomach slides up through the widened hiatus at times and then slides back down.
• Type 2: Types 2-4 are called paraesophageal hiatal hernias. “Paraesophageal” means “beside the esophagus.” In type 2, the upper part of your stomach pushes up through the hiatus alongside your esophagus, forming a bulge next to it. This is also called a rolling hiatal hernia.
• Type 3: Type 3 is a mix of the first two types. The part of your esophagus that connects to your stomach — the gastroesophageal junction — slides up through the hiatus at times. And another part of your stomach also bulges through, alongside the gastroesophageal junction at times.
• Type 4: Type 4 is rare, but it can be more complicated. In this version, the hiatus is wide enough for two different organs to herniate through it. The hernia involves your stomach together with another abdominal organ, such as one of your intestines, your pancreas or your spleen.