Radiological Appearance of Hiatal Hernias on Computed Tomography

Abstract

A hiatal hernia is the herniation of organs and structures in the abdominal cavity through the esophageal opening of the diaphragm. We aimed to present the tomographic findings of hiatal hernia types. The computed tomography (CT) images and demographic characteristics of the patients diagnosed with hiatal hernias based on contrast-enhanced and/or non-contrast thorax-abdominal CT scan between January 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed (Material & Method shortened in abstract.). Oral contrast material wasn’t given to the patients. (Added) 210 patients with hiatal hernias, 126 (60%) were female and 84 (40%) were male. Among these patients, 124 (59 %) had type 1, 76 (36 %) had type 2, nine (4.2 %) had type 3, and one (0.4 %) had type 4 hiatal hernia. The most common complaints were cough (64%) and mild shortness of breath (34%). The most common clinical signs seen in the majority of patients were weight loss (73%) and loss of appetite (41%). All of the cases were mainly diagnosed based on radiological (CT) findings. With the increase in the use of CT for thoracic and abdominal diseases, there has been an increase in the frequency of incidental detection of hiatal hernias. Hernia diagnosis is important for preoperative surgical planning. Radiologists should be aware that complications of hiatal hernia can cause morbidity and mortality. The best diagnosis method is considered as CT, which is also useful in determining the type of hiatal hernias.