Kim Kardashian received a diagnosis of a hiatal hernia shortly before undergoing surgery to treat esophagitis, a condition that also affected her late father, Robert Kardashian Sr. The news was revealed in a preview for an upcoming episode of "The Kardashians."
A hiatal hernia occurs when the upper portion of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm, the muscle separating the chest and abdominal cavities, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The revelation carries emotional weight for Kardashian, as her father died of esophageal cancer in 2003. "My dad had that," she told her doctor upon learning of the hernia diagnosis.
Earlier in the episode, Kardashian, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, sought medical attention for her esophagitis. She explained that she had been feeling "a little off lately" and experiencing throat pain. She had initially hesitated to share her symptoms due to her father's history with the disease.
Kardashian had previously shared her esophagitis diagnosis in September, expressing concern about the potential need for surgery. "I’m hopeful. It is what it is," she stated in a confessional. "They’re either going to say, ‘Hey, the irregularities have not gone away [with] the medication, and you need to have a piece of your esophagus removed,’ or they’re going to say, ‘The medication worked, and you don’t need the procedure … just continue on this medication.' Obviously, I don’t want surgery, but I’ll do whatever’s necessary."
Kris Jenner expressed her own anxieties, acknowledging the situation as "very worrisome" due to the parallels with her husband's fatal illness. "So of course I’m scared. I don’t want to tell her I’m scared, but it’s very worrisome. We just pray for the best,” she said.
The episode also confirmed that Kardashian had undergone surgery to address "irregularities" in her esophagus. She had first disclosed her esophagitis diagnosis in the trailer for the eighth season of "The Kardashians," noting that the condition "really hits home" because of her father's passing.