To investigate the effectiveness of using a 36F Bougie tube during laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair in reducing and preventing postoperative dysphagia and swallowing dysfunction.

A total of 40 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease combined with hiatal hernia who underwent hiatal hernia repair combined with anti-reflux surgery at the Department of Minimally Invasive, Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People’s Hospital between June 2023 and January 2024 were enrolled. They were randomly divided into two groups: the laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair plus Nissen fundoplication group without the support tube (20 cases) and the laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair plus Nissen fundoplication group with the support of a 36F Bougie tube (20 cases). The χ² test was used to compare differences in swallowing function evaluations between the two groups at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively, while the t-test was employed to compare the differences in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (GERD-Q) scores between the two groups preoperatively and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively, as well as the differences between postoperative and preoperative scores.

At 1 week postoperatively, 5 patients in the non-support tube group experienced mild dysphagia and 2 patients experienced moderate dysphagia, whereas in the support tube group, only 1 patient experienced mild dysphagia. This difference was statistically significant (χ²=8.633, P=0.013). At 1 month postoperatively, the GERD-Q score in the support tube group was higher than that in the non-support tube group [(5.30±0.65) points vs (5.15±1.18) points], and this difference was statistically significant (t=-0.496, P=0.011). However, comparisons between the two groups at 1 week and 3 months postoperatively showed no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). Within-group comparisons revealed that the GERD-Q scores in the non-support tube group at 1 week (7.25±0.85), 1 month (5.15±1.18), and 3 months (4.85±0.87) postoperatively differed significantly from the preoperative score (11.95±1.39, P<0.001). Similarly, the GERD-Q scores in the support tube group at 1 week (6.90±1.02), 1 month (5.30±0.65), and 3 months (4.65±0.58) postoperatively also differed significantly from the preoperative score (11.90±1.48, P<0.001).

The use of a 36F Bougie support tube during hiatal hernia repair combined with Nissen fundoplication effectively reduces the incidence of postoperative swallowing dysfunction while ensuring an adequate anti-reflux effect.