The 1994 meeting of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (E.A.E.S.) in Madrid highlighted a consensus-developing conference on the then new laparoscopic procedure for hernia repair. The conference was chaired by A. Paul from Cologne, Germany, and A. Fingerhut, from Poissy, France. The other members of the jury were B. Millat (France), L. Nyhus (USA), J. Himpens (Belgium), J.-L. Dulucq (France), V. Schumpelick (Germany), E. Laporte Rosello (Spain), C. Klaiber (Switzerland), J. Mouiel (France), P. Go (Netherlands), and J.-H. Alexandre (France). At that time, there were, in all, only three randomized trials available for analysis. Today, there are more than 60 trials and more than 12,500 patients have been entered into them. An update, presented this year in Vienna, is summarized herein.