Update of guidelines on laparoscopic (TAPP) and endoscopic (TEP) treatment of inguinal hernia (International Endohernia Society)

Guidelines are the bridge between science and clinical practice [1]. Science is a dynamic process and it is continuously evolving. Consequently, there is a continual development of new insights necessitation updates of existing guidelines. For this update, the authors concentrated on studies with level of 1 and 2 evidence. All references are marked with the level of evidence, according to the Oxford classification. In general “Recommendation Grade D” does not constitute a recommendation, but in some instances it is shown in the text to indicate lack of quality data. We recommended all readers to download the original statements and recommendations [2], for fully appreciation of the Update Guidelines on Laparoscopic Hernia Surgery. Updates should include issues that were not yet sufficiently covered in the original guidelines or those which have gained increased clinical importance. For this reason, the Update includes four new chapters: single port surgery, convalescence, costs and training. The update process was started in March 2013. All the authors were requested to commence revision of their chapters between January 2009 and September 30th 2013. An Update Consensus Conference was held on October 23–26, 2013 in Windhoek/Namibia, following which, the first versions of the updates were presented to the delegates and extensively discussed. Based on these discussions the definite update was formulated and circulated for approval by all the involved experts.