Does the word hernia frighten you? Often, hernias can be harmless and pain-free, but at other times they may bring on discomfort and pain. Whenever an internal body part pushes through an opening into an area that it does not belong, it’s called a hernia.
The two main types of hiatal or hiatus (opening in the diaphragm) hernias are sliding and paraesophageal.
With a sliding hernia, the stomach and the section of the esophagus that joins the stomach will slide up into the chest through the hiatus.…
