Papers of the Week

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most frequent operations in general surgery. Various techniques have been used to repair inguinal hernias since the first reconstructive technique described by Bassini in 1887. In 1989 Lichtenstein reported a new technique: tension free inguinal hernia repair. Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair was introduced in the early 1990s, and soon also became popular. Literature has shown the benefits of laparoscopy (in comparison with open repair) to be mostly related to the more minimally invasive nature of the surgery, having lower wound infection rates, faster recovery, and less postoperative pain.