Inguinal hernia is commonly known as “hernia” and “small intestine gas”, and there are about 3 million new inguinal hernia patients in China every year, with an incidence rate of about 3‰-5‰, which is one of the common diseases in surgery, higher than any kind of malignant tumor. And the incidence rate of elderly men is significantly higher, up to 11.6‰ . With the improvement of living standard in China, people pay more and more attention to these diseases. Our gastrointestinal surgery department is one of the first teams that started tension-free patch hernia repair in China, and has 20 years of experience in operating on nearly 10,000 patients so far. There are many different surgical approaches to treat inguinal hernia at home and abroad, but the overall choice is between two main categories, open and laparoscopic. Both types of surgery have their own advantages and disadvantages, and their application should be selected individually in order to achieve the best treatment results for the patient. Open tension-free hernia repair was introduced to China from abroad in the 1990s, and subsequently became rapidly popular throughout the country. One of the greatest advantages of this tension-free hernia repair is the low recurrence rate, which has been below 2% in China, and in addition to this, the procedure can be done under local anesthesia. It usually requires only 2-3 days of hospitalization, and the procedure can even be done on an outpatient basis. The currently commonly used open tension-free hernia repair methods are summarized as follows: Flat-piece tension-free repair (Lichtenstein procedure): Lichtenstein procedure involves suturing the patch to the wall of the inguinal canal and the spermatic cord is led out through the patch by perforation. It is recognized worldwide as the most classic procedure for hernia surgery and is currently the most widely used tension-free hernia repair procedure worldwide. It is currently a major surgical approach in the management of inguinal hernia because of its anterior approach to strengthen the posterior wall of the inguinal canal, simple access, superficial repair level and therefore few serious complications. However, this procedure has strict surgical protocols and points and requires a good formal training to achieve good results. Mesh plug & patch: This procedure is a combination of mesh plug and Lichtenstein procedure, in which the hernia ring defect is filled with polypropylene rolled into an umbrella shape and then the posterior wall of the inguinal canal is strengthened with a flat piece. This procedure is relatively simple, but postoperative recurrence and discomfort of mesh plugging are gradually becoming a concern for hernia surgeons. Anterior peritoneal space tension-free hernia repair: This is a new tension-free hernia repair method proposed in 2000, in which a large enough patch is placed in the anterior peritoneal space to repair the pubococcygeal muscle foramen. With the rapid advances in synthetic material science, the patch material has reached the ideal requirements to allow for the overall repair of the three potential defects of the internal ring, the rectus hernia triangle, and the femoral ring, which is the concept of total inguinal repair. Laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia: Laparoscopic hernia repair is a minimally invasive technique developed on the basis of the joint development of laparoscopic surgical techniques and tension-free hernia repair, and is another successful procedure after minimally invasive surgery for laparoscopic biliary, colon, and gastric diseases, which has epochal significance and has been described as the 21st century hernia repair “milestone”. The advantages of this surgical approach are: 1. Minimally invasive with little injury, no large incision, and freedom of movement from the ground in the same day after surgery; 2. Especially suitable for bilateral inguinal hernia and recurrent hernia; 3. Low recurrence rate and chance of postoperative patch infection. There are two types of laparoscopic hernia repair surgery in common use: one is TAPP surgery into the abdominal cavity, which is the most widely used surgical procedure because of its high safety and extremely broad surgical indications, and can deal with conventional inguinal hernia and recurrent hernia, giant hernia, refractory hernia, exploration of incarcerated hernia, etc. The other is the total extraperitoneal TEP procedure, which requires a high level of skill and should not be performed in patients with a long history or large hernias, and is suitable for patients with a short history and a small hernia with a first episode. Both surgical procedures can achieve excellent therapeutic results and can theoretically cure inguinal hernias radically. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation. The postoperative recovery is quick, with a return to work period of about 3 days. This type of surgery can be chosen for patients with high return to work requirements or sports enthusiasts. Open and lumpectomy are both internationally accepted treatments. The open procedure is simple and quick, can be performed under local anesthesia, and is an affordable option. The lumpectomy is the most advanced concept of radical inguinal hernia treatment as there is no large incision and general anesthesia allows the patient to have no intraoperative discomfort, less postoperative pain and shorter return to work. Whether inguinal hernia patients are suitable for laparoscopic surgery or open surgery, the doctor should fully inform the patient of the risks and advantages of each of the two procedures, and the patient should choose according to his or her own situation and professional advice.