On my surgery core and the attending asked about this and the possible complications that may arise. There isn't much information on this particular topic in uptodate. I understand COPD pts have hyper-inflated lungs that can push into the diaphragm, possibly causing weakness to the muscle over time. If the hiatus is large enough before repair, plus an already displaced/weakened diaphragm, could the surgery further damage the diaphragm? Am I missing something too simple here?