Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Hernioplasty (TEP): Part I

Abstract

Before the last decade of the twentieth century, most hernias were repaired using conventional anterior approaches. With the advent of laparoscopic techniques, however, surgeons began to look at the problem of hernia repair in a totally new way. Because recurrent and complex hernias had been successfully approached in the past by Stoppa, Read, Nyhus, and others using a posterior mesh repair, laparoscopic surgeons thought that it was reasonable to approach inguinal hernias using a laparoscopic modification of this technique. It was hoped that patients undergoing a laparoscopic hernia repair would recover faster and have less discomfort, as was the case for patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy.