Laparoscopic inguinal hernioplasty in aviators

Repair of inguinal hernias may be performed using either open surgery or laparoscopic techniques. Following surgery, a 6-wk waiting period is generally recommended before a pilot returns to active duty, including flight in high-performance aircraft. A shorter waiting period would be operationally useful and may be possible following either a trans-abdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) laparoscopic technique or a totally extra-peritoneal (TEP) approach. In this manuscript we present the cases of four aviators who underwent inguinal hernia repair via the TEP approach and were returned to the cockpit 21 d later with no evident complications. Although this sample is small, it emphasizes the potential benefit of the TEP approach in aviators.