I had mine done back in '74 or so. That was long before laproscopes. I think they used a Goodyear self-vulcanizing tire patch on mine. I was forbidden to drive for 90 days (standard transmission to boot) and was in a lot of pain the whole time. Left a 3" scar.
That's when I was a jet instructor. Pulling up to 5 G's many times every day will give you 'roids or a hernia - or both. As I have just learned, it will also contribute to blowing out a lumbar disc decades later. Gonna have surgery for that next month.
Dark humor addition: When I was diagnosed back then, the Flight Surgeon said, "Alexander the Great had a hernia just like yours. It killed him."
