title: Laparoscopic inguinal hernioplasty in aviators.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Israeli Air Force Aeromedical Center. gross-e@zahav.net.il
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.forename: Erez
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barenboim
authors.forename: Bella
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Azaria
authors.forename: Yaniv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sherer
authors.forename: Liav
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Korianski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001359:Aviation; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged