ABSTRACT
Laparoscopy in pediatric hernia patients has undergone a rapid, albeit delayed, evolution. While laparoscopic herniorrhaphy was being popularized in adults, the approach was considered to be cumbersome, unnecessary, and even contraindicated in children. The perception that a child would outgrow the repair, particularly one involving mesh, dominated early thoughts about the laparoscopic approach. Other considerations, such as the physiological stress of laparoscopy in infants and children and the size and availability of appropriate instruments, initially precluded pediatric laparoscopic herniorrhaphy. However, once these barriers were overcome in other pediatric surgical maladies, it was inevitable that herniorrhaphy would be revisited. With steady progress, pediatric surgeons have applied their endoscopic skills to pediatric hernia patients, and today many surgeons prefer this approach for the repair of inguinal, ventral and diaphragmatic hernias in infants and children.
