Introduction

Hernia (Latin, rupture; Greek, bud) defined as protrusion of aviscus through an opening in the wall of the cavity in which it is contained^[1]. The zone of weakness is the common feature possessed by all hernias by way of which structures can pass through the wall of the cavity which contains them. Out of all the potential hernial sites inguinal area is unequalled in its structural weakness^[2]. In addition, due to the upright position acquired by man in course of evolution, the inguinal region is subjected to a large part of the weight of mobile intestines, which contributes towards the high incidence of herniation in human beings.

Hernias has been known since evolution of man and the history of hernia is the history of surgery as stated by Jose Felix^[3]. Many great men have been devising innovative methods to repair hernia surgically. First were the anatomical repairs amongst which bassini’s and shouldice’s repairs were accepted and followed worldwide. Later the use of prosthesis came into practice. As early as 1900, Phelps, Goepel and Witzel used silver wire braided meshes (known as silver filigrees) ^[4-7]. These early meshes were far from ideal. During the Second World Warcame the age of the plastics industry. These were polypropylene, polyester and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), which paved the way for the prosthetic meshes available today^[8-10]. This drastically decreased the rate of recurrences. With the acceptance of mesh usage, many pioneer surgeons came up with indigenous methods of using it. Then came the question of which plane the mesh is to be placed.

1. Read RC. Basic features of abdominal wall herniation and its repair. Shackelford’s surgery of the alimentary tract. 4ed. George D. Zuidema. 1996.
2. Nyhus LM, Wantz GE. Hernias and surgery of the abdominal wall. Springer Science & Business Media; 2012 Dec 6.
3. Patino JF. A history of the treatment of hernia. In: Nyhus LM, Condon RE. Hernia, 4th edition. Philadelphia. J.B.Lippincott. 1995;03-06.
4. Goepel R. Uber die Verschliessung von BruchpfortendurchEinheilunggeflochtenerfertigerSilberdrahtnetze. Zentralbl. Chir. 17, 3 (1900).
5. Perry HB. Implantations of silver filigree for cure of large ventral hernia; report of two cases. Boston Med. Surg. J. 151, 2 (1904).
6. Witzel O. Uber den Verschluss van Bauchwunden und Bruchpforten durch versenkte Silberdraht netze. Zetralbl Chir. 27, 3 (1900).
7. Phelps A. A new operation for hernia. NY Med. J. 60, 291 (1894).
8. Usher FC, Wallace SA. Tissue reaction to plastics; a comparison of nylon, orlon, Dacron, Teflon, and Marlex. AMA Arch. Surg. 76(6), 997–999 (1958).
9. Usher FC, Ochsner J, Tuttle LL Jr. Use of marlex mesh in the repair of incisional hernias. Am. Surg. 24(12), 969–974 (1958).
10. Adloff M, Arnaud JP. Surgical management of large incisional hernias by an intraperitoneal Mersilene mesh and an aponeurotic graft. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet. 165(3), 204–206 (1987).
11. Stoppa RE. Wrapping the visceral sac into a bilateral mesh prosthesis in groin hernia repair. Hernia. 2003 Mar 1;7(1):2-12.
12. Read RC. Recent advances in the repair of groin herniation. Current problems in surgery. 2003 Jan 1;40(1):13-79.
13. Abramson JH, Gofin J, Hopp C, Makler A, Epstein LM. The epidemiology of inguinal hernia. A survey in western Jerusalem. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 1978 Mar 1;32(1):59-67.
14. Manzar TS. lnguinal hernia incidence, complications and management. JCPSP 1992; 2: 7-9.
15. Rodrigues Jr AJ, Jin HY, Utiyama EM, Rodrigues CJ. The Stoppa procedure in inguinal hernia repair: to drain or not to drain. Revista do Hospital das Clínicas. 2003;58(2):97-102.
16. Miller AR, van Heerden JA, Naessens JM, O’Brien PC. Simultaneous bilateral hernia repair. A case against conventional wisdom. Ann Surg. 213:272-276; 1991.
17. Ahmed M, Shahid M. EARLY POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS OF STOPPA’S REPAIR. Pak Armed Forces Med J Jun 2008;58(2):141-6
18. Gonzalez R, Ramshaw BJ. Comparison of tissue integration between polyester and polypropylene prostheses in the preperitoneal space/Discussion. The American Surgeon. 2003 Jun 1;69(6):471.
19. Stoppa RE, Warlaumont CR, Verhaegue PJ (1986) Prosthetic repair in the treatment of groin hernias. IntSurg 71: 154–158
20. Beets GL, Van Geldere D, Baeten CG, Go PM (1996) Longterm results of giant prosthetic reinforcement of the visceral sac for complex recurrent inguinal hernia. Br J Surg 83:203–206.
21. Stoppa RE. The treatment of complicated groin and incisional hernias. World J Surg. 1989;13(5):545–54
22. Me Greevy JM. Groin Hernia and Surgical truth. Am J Surg 1998; 176: 301-4
23. Maghsoudi H, Pourzand A. Giant prosthetic reinforcement of the visceral sac:theStoppa groin hernia repair in 234 patients. Ann Saudi Med. 2005;25(3):228–232.
24. Stoppa R (1999) Groin hernia repair by bilateral extraperitoneal mesh prosthesis. In: Zurker M, Kark AE, Wantz GE (eds) Surgical management of abdominal wall hernias, vol 16. Martin Dunitz Ltd, London, pp 203–214
25. Solorzano CC, Mintez RM, Childers TC, Kilkenny JW, Vauthey JN (1999) Prospective evaluation of the giant prosthetic reinforcement of the visceral sac for recurrrent and complex bilateral inguianl hernias. Am J Surg 177:19–22
26. Fernandez-Lobato R, Tartas-Ruiz A, Jiménez-Miramón FJ, Marín-Lucas FJ, de Adana-Belbel JC, Esteban ML. Stoppa procedure in bilateral inguinal hernia. Hernia. 2006 Apr 1;10(2):179-83.
27. Katkhouda N, Campos GM, Mavor E, Trussler A, Khalil M, Stoppa R (1999) Laparoscopic extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair. A safe approach bases on the understanding of rectus sheath anatomy. SurgEndosc 13(12):1243–1246
28. Weber A, Gareiz D, Cueto J (1999) Stoppa-type laparoscopic repair of complex groin defects. Surg Laparosc Endosc 9(1): 14–16
29. Koc M, Aslar AD, Yoldas A, Ertan T, Kilic M, Gocmen E (2004) Comparison of quality-of life outcomes of Stoppa vs bilateral Lichtenstein procedure. Hernia 8(1):53–55

Dr Priya Ahire

Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, J. J. Group of Hospitals, Mumbai