This was the first single theme conference organized in India. BEST Institute & Research Centre associated with St. Martha’s Hospital and introduced surgeons to the evolving science of Laparoscopic Hernia Surgery. This was a time when surgeons in the country were adaptlng to the practice of laparoscopic surgery. It was quite convincing to perform basic laparoscopic surgeries like diagnostic procedures, chlolecystectomy and appendicectomy. But there was a lot of skepticism about performing hernia repair using laparoscopic surgery. There were a