This surgical procedure does require diet restrictions after surgery. You will need to stay on a liquid/soft diet for approximately 3 weeks after surgery. During that time, you can try or experiment with eating soft, mushy foods like tuna, mashed potatoes, eggs, cottage cheese, and thick soups.
Balanced Meals for Recovery
Consider fruits, vegetables, and whole grains together with healthy proteins from fish, meat, eggs, tofu, nuts, milk and dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese. Avoid high fat and high caloric foods with low nutritional values, such as syrup drinks, French fries, desserts, etc.
You can take boiled, poached, or scrambled eggs and avoid fired items. Rice, potatoes, and pasta must be cooked enough to get soft.
If you have progressed without difficulty through the soft diet, you can start to eat a normal diet in the sixth week. Leave bread (especially white bread) and chicken until last as these have the greatest tendency to get stuck in your gullet.
Add in: • porridge, breakfast cereals such as Weetabix, Cornflakes, rice crispies, well softened with milk or hot water • fruit – fresh fruit (soft, well ripened) stewed or tinned fruit (soft or pureed) • vegetables – well cooked, soft, mashed or pureed • pasta (spaghetti, noodles) well cooked, soft • pureed meats, ...
In some cases, you'll often need to continue daily use of the incentive spirometer, and will be on an all-liquid diet. At two weeks: By the time of the first check-up, and depending on the scope of the treatment, most discomfort will start passing (though full results can take up to 10 to 12 weeks).
After hiatal hernia surgery, you should avoid hard or crunchy foods, caffeine, alcohol, fatty foods, and spicy food. You should also drink plenty of fluids and eat soft foods that are easy to swallow.
During the first several days after surgery, it is a good idea to stick with very soft foods that won't require your abdominal or intestinal muscles to strain. Foods to eat after hernia surgery at this stage include: Milk. Plain yogurt.
You should have been given a pureed diet by the time you left the hospital. We ask patients to stay on a pureed diet for the first 2-3 weeks to avoid anything getting "stuck" near your recent surgery.
Avoid Foods that Are Harsh on the Digestive Tract
As you heal from your hernia surgery, it will be best to say no to foods that are hard to digest (such as red meat), and foods that can cause acid reflux, such as caffeine, chocolate, and spicy foods.
Hiatal Hernia: Foods That Are Less Likely to Cause Symptoms
The following foods are low-acid-producing foods and are less likely to aggravate your hiatal hernia symptoms: Bananas and apples. Green beans, peas, carrots, and broccoli. Grains, like cereals (bran and oatmeal), bread, rice, pasta, and crackers.
After laparoscopic surgery, most people usually do not experience much pain, but they may feel discomfort in their abdomen and chest and have difficulty swallowing for a short time. After a laparoscopy, a person may go home the same day if they recover from the anesthetic.
Severe chest pain beneath the sternum five days after Toupet fundoplication is not normal. It may indicate wrap failure, recurrent hiatal hernia, and recurrent acid reflux. In this case one would expect other symptoms to occur too like heartburn and food regurgitation.
Eggs: During the wound regeneration stage, young skin is gradually forming, while eggs have properties that promote the proliferation of collagen fiber tissue. Therefore, if you eat eggs, keloids will form in the wound.
Therefore, should you eat chicken and eggs after a surgery? Yes, it is completely safe and even advisable. However, if you are still not convinced and do not feel comfortable eating them, it is also alright to skip the chicken and egg. Nevertheless, remember to get your protein from the other sources as mentioned.
Protein also helps your body make new blood cells, which are necessary for wound healing. Good sources of protein include lean meats, poultry, fish, tofu, eggs, legumes, and nuts.
Bowel Movements
You should be passing gas and have a bowel movement within a few days after surgery and resume your normal bowel routine.
When you burp, you may not get as much relief as you did before the surgery. The cramping and bloating usually go away in 2 to 3 months, but you may continue to pass more gas for a long time. Because the surgery makes your stomach a little smaller, you may get full more quickly when you eat.
How are recurrent hernias diagnosed? Your doctor will carefully examine your abdominal area after reviewing your medical and surgical history. You could be asked to stand and cough so the doctor can see or feel a bulge that would indicate that your hernia has returned.
Eg: Broccoli, spinach, capsicum. 6. Apple and bananas are the most preferred fruits for hiatal hernia patients as they are known to reduce acid production in the stomach.
You can eat your normal diet. If your stomach is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice, broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt. Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to). You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery.
Women who have a medical or physical condition know that non-underwire bras are a Godsend. For those who have just had surgery, have a hiatal hernia, or a high ribcage, wearing a wireless bra is the best option. Trouble reaching around? Give a front-opening bra a go!
Combating hiatal hernia recurrence
Hiatal hernias recur after surgery 15% to 50% of the time, says Miguel Burch, MD, chief of Minimally Invasive and GI Surgery at Cedars-Sinai.
Compression Garments after Hernia Surgery
Abdominal compression garments, also known as a 'hernia belt', wrap around the abdomen, fitting tightly to provide support but not so tightly that they cut off circulation to the area.