Inguinal hernia is a type of hernia, commonly known as “small intestine gas” and “gas egg”, and is a common surgical condition. If left untreated, inguinal hernia can become embedded, which means that the intestines and other organs in the hernia become stuck, and this can easily lead to ischemia, necrosis or even perforation of the intestinal cavity or other intra-abdominal organs, which can be life-threatening if not operated in time. From a medical point of view, except for a few young children who may have a chance of self-healing (usually younger than 1 year old can be observed), hernias need surgery to be cured. What are the surgical options for a hernia? There are many methods of hernia repair, the main ones are as follows: 1. Tissue repair, which is the earliest classical hernia repair, involves forcibly suturing the tissues on both sides of the defect, but there are disadvantages such as high tension, discomfort and pain from prolonged postoperative wound pulling, poor healing of the repaired tissues, and a high recurrence rate, so there is a trend of gradual elimination, but it can be used in some smaller hernias. Open tension-free hernia repair, modern hernia surgery emphasizes suture repair under tension-free conditions. This method uses synthetic patches to repair the inguinal defect area, which not only greatly reduces the recurrence rate, but also provides less pain and faster recovery. This repair concept has become the mainstream of abdominal wall hernia repair today. 3, laparoscopic hernia repair. As people’s demand for aesthetics and experience gradually increases, laparoscopic hernia repair has come into being and is gradually showing great advantages. Of course, laparoscopic repair is also performed using a synthetic patch. Briefly, depending on the access route for repair, there are 3 surgical approaches: ① transperitoneal anterior approach (TAPP); ② completely transperitoneal approach (TEP); and ③ intraperitoneal approach (IPOM). Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, while the opening on the abdominal wall is basically the same, with two small openings of 5 mm and one of 10 mm, which are less painful, faster recovery, and can repair compound hernias at the same time, making them the more desirable methods of hernia repair at present. What is the better choice of surgery? In principle, both open and laparoscopic tension-free repair are good options, except for pediatric and a few milder hernias. With open tension-free repair, the patient can return to normal work 1 to 2 weeks after surgery and the treatment is not expensive. Laparoscopic repair, on the other hand, is suitable for all types of inguinal hernias, especially for recurrent hernias and bilateral hernias after previous open surgery without disruption of the anterior peritoneal space. The disadvantage is that the patient requires general anesthesia and the cost of treatment is high, but it is the preferred option for patients with high pain and cosmetic requirements. In terms of recurrence rates, there is little difference between open and laparoscopic surgery.