Hernia 2009 was organized at BGS Global Hospitals, Bangalore, jointly by BGS Global Hospitals and Bangalore Endoscopic Surgery Training Institute & Research Center, between the 3rd and 6th of December 2009. This Meet was endorsed by the IAGES, HSI – Indian Chapter of APHS and ELSA. A Hands-on training course was conducted on the 3rd and 4th of December. Sixty surgeons were registered for this course. Advanced skills were taught in 30 BEST endotrainers. Different techniques of suturing and knotting were taught on the first day along with didactic sessions involving suturing skills and ergonomics. There were some pioneering efforts on creating unique modules of inguinal hernia and ventral hernia using animal tissues and synthetic materials. This was appreciated by all the delegates and faculty who attended the course. Most of them said this is an excellent method of training to develop hernia skills. The didactic sessions included several lectures on various skills required for hernia surgery. A live workshop was held on the 5th of December. Sixteen hernia surgeries, performed both by open and laparoscopic methods in 4 operation theatres were transmitted to two large screens in the new SJB Auditorium.There were 224 delegates registered for the workshop and conference. On the last day there was a rich exchange of knowledge with guest lectures, symposia, panel discussions and debates on open vs. laparoscopic repair of different types of hernias. Dr. Franz Ugahary from the Netherlands demonstrated his unique technique of performing TEP Mesh repair for inguinal hernia by open surgical technique for the first time in the country. Dr. H.G. Doctor, President of HIS and Dr. Rajesh Khullar,  Secretary of HIS participated in the Meet. Several senior HSI and IAGES members participated as National Faculty, including Dr. John Thanakumar, Dr. Suresh Deshpande, Dr. Deepraj Bhandarkar, Dr. Prashanth Rao, Dr. V. Venkatesh and Dr. Subhash Agarwal. Many senior surgeons of Karnataka were also among the faculty.  Dr. K. Ravindranath, Patron of the conference and Chairman, BGS Global Hospitals concluded by stating that there will be many more single theme conferences organized at BGS Global Hospitals in the days to come. Dr. M. Ramesh was the Organising Chairman and Dr. Tulip Chamany the organizing secretary of this conference. More details and photographs of the event may be viewed at www.herniaconference.com.