Some New Twists to One of Most Common Procedures in US General Surgery

Abstract

CHANGES IN performing one of the most common procedures in general surgery were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons, in Atlanta, Ga, by two innovators in the area of inguinal hernia repair. The techniques they describe are aimed at decreasing the pain, length of recovery time, and 20% recurrence rate heretofore often associated with this operation. Ralph Ger, MD, chair, Department of Surgery, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY, professor of surgery at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and professor of anatomy at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, has perfected a technique using a laparoscope and a new stapling device. In Ger's hands, the minimally invasive technique routinely used for ligation of fallopian tubes to effect sterility in women is used to close the hernial opening in the abdominal wall while preserving fertility in men. Another aspect of hernia surgery was