Preperitoneal herniorrhaphy: a historical review.

From ancient times, both the transabdominal (posterior) and the groin (anterior) approach have been used either singly or in combination in the management of inguinofemoral herniation. Development accelerated in the nineteenth century after Lister introduced antisepsis. Although Bassini and Halsted conducted their classic procedures in the preperitoneal plane, it was Cheatle, in 1920, who first performed transabdominal preperitoneal herniorrhaphy. In 1950, McEvedy described the lateral approach, which was made popular by Nyhus and Condon in the 1960's. The problem of relaxing incisions and the importance of prosthetic repair through this exposure are substantiated along with the anatomy of the preperitoneal fatty layer and the results of sutureless bilateral herniorrhaphy.