The surgical treatment of parastomal hernias is controversial. The best way to treat it is to restore the continuity of the intestine, but in permanent stomas, this is not an option. Many surgical techniques have been described when intervention is required, but the results are unacceptable. The traditional open techniques are local simple suturing of the fascia defect, stoma relocation, or repair with a prosthetic material either intraperitoneally or extraperitoneally (subfascial or onlay). Overall, the results of all methods are poor with high recurrence rates and high morbidity and mortality. Mesh repair has the lowest recurrence rate (0-39%) and stoma relocation and simple suture has reported recurrence rates on 0-76% and 46-100%, respectively. Laparoscopic repair of parastomal hernias with a prosthetic mesh inserted intraperitoneally is a new method described in a few small series. The results so far are encouraging, but the follow-up period is short.