Small Hiatal Hernia Repair In Tampa, FL

Founded in 2022 as the natural evolution of Tampa Bay Reflux Center (established in 2009), Tampa Bay Reflux Institute is a dedicated foregut surgical practice located at 1315 South Howard Avenue in Tampa, FL. Our office sits in the recognizable yellow brick building right next to Sally O’Neill’s Pizza, with convenient parking behind the restaurant.

For more than fifteen years, our medical director Dr. Gopal Grandhige has focused exclusively on benign conditions of the esophagus, diaphragm, and stomach. That focus matters. Reflux and hiatal hernia care can be fragmented across general surgeons, gastroenterologists, ENT physicians, and primary care doctors. Patients often bounce between specialists for years without a clear answer about what is happening inside their bodies.

We built this practice to close that gap. Every consultation starts with a thorough review of your prior testing, your symptom history, and the opinions of every physician who has already weighed in. Then Dr. Grandhige uses plain language and hand-drawn diagrams to explain what reflux actually is, why a small hiatal hernia can cause real problems, and what options make sense for you.

Dr. Grandhige is board certified in general surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of SAGES, and a founding member of the American Foregut Society. He completed his medical degree at the University of Michigan and his general surgery residency plus fellowships in burn and critical care and foregut and minimally invasive surgery at Yale, New Haven Hospital.

If you have been told nothing is wrong despite ongoing reflux, or you have been on acid medication for years without relief, this is the kind of practice built for you.

A small hiatal hernia happens when the natural opening in your diaphragm stretches just enough to let part of the stomach slip upward into the chest. Even small hernias can disrupt the reflux barrier, weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, and cause symptoms that medication alone cannot fix.

At Tampa Bay Reflux Institute, hiatal hernia repair is not a one size fits all procedure. Dr. Grandhige tailors every operation to your anatomy, your esophageal motility, and your goals. Surgery is typically performed laparoscopically or robotically at HCA South Tampa Hospital, where Dr. Grandhige operates exclusively with the same dedicated team and his own physician assistant in every case.

Most small hiatal hernia repair procedures are performed alongside one of the following anti-reflux solutions, because repairing the diaphragm without strengthening the reflux barrier rarely delivers lasting results.

• Fundoplication in Nissen, Toupet, Dor, and Watson configurations
• LINX Magnetic Sphincter Augmentation for patients who want to preserve burping and vomiting
• TIF (Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication) for select patients with minimal or no hiatal hernia
• Heller Myotomy for achalasia
• Endoscopic Pyloromyotomy for gastroparesis
• RefluxStop®, coming in 2026, making Dr. Grandhige the only surgeon in Tampa Bay offering all four major anti-reflux procedures

Every patient receives objective diagnostic testing first, including pH monitoring, esophageal manometry, upper endoscopy, and barium swallow when appropriate. Surgery is recommended only when the testing confirms it will help.

Patients consistently describe their experience at Tampa Bay Reflux Institute the same way: heard, educated, and respected. Many tell us this was the first time anyone took the time to draw a picture of what was happening inside their body and explain why their symptoms made sense.

“I had been on PPIs for almost a decade before someone finally tested me properly. Dr. Grandhige walked me through every result and matched the right procedure to my anatomy. I sleep through the night for the first time in years.”

Dr. Grandhige is board certified by the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), and a founding member of the American Foregut Society. His credentials can be independently verified through the Florida Department of Health license lookup.

For patients with typical reflux symptoms and appropriate anatomy, Tampa Bay Reflux Institute achieves greater than 95 percent success rates in symptom relief and elimination of daily reflux medication.

If any of these sound familiar, you are exactly the kind of patient we help every week.

• You have been on daily acid medication for years and still feel reflux symptoms breaking through.
• You were told your endoscopy is normal, but you know something is wrong.
• You wake up at night with regurgitation, a sour taste, or a burning throat.
• You have a chronic cough, hoarseness, or constant throat clearing that no one can explain.
• You were diagnosed with a small hiatal hernia and told to just live with it.
• You want off your PPIs but do not know if surgery is the right next step.
• You have already seen a gastroenterologist, an ENT, and a pulmonologist with no clear answers.
• You are considering reflux surgery but afraid of side effects you have read about online.
• You travel often, eat out, and feel like reflux dictates your social life.
• You have been told you need surgery elsewhere but want a second opinion from a foregut specialist.

You do not have to keep cycling through specialists and medications. A complete evaluation often takes just one or two visits.