Cooper ligament repair: an update

Abstract

This study had 4 objectives: first, to define the place of the Cooper ligament in hernial repairs by recalling its anatomic importance within the inguinal region; second, to describe our technique using the Cooper ligament, a technique based on suture of the conjoined tendon to the Cooper ligament without a relaxing incision into the rectus sheath and also to describe other authors' variants; third, to report the results obtained for 1,040 patients operated on by our technique from 1970 to 1978; fourth, to define the value and limits of these herniorrhaphy methods in repairs of groin hernias. These methods are inexpensive and virtually exclude the risk of serious infections because no foreign material is used. The procedures can be used in most patients. The only limits are suture tension during the repair and the presence of parietal deterioration. In such situations, it is necessary to perform a prosthetic repair or to reinforce the herniorrhaphy with prosthetic mesh.