title: Short-stay surgery for inguinal hernia. Clinical outcome of the Shouldice operation.
abstract: In 1970 a general surgical team on Teesside adopted the Shouldice operation for inguinal hernia together with a policy of short-stay surgery. Careful follow-up has established that repairs using the suture material of choice--stainless-steel wire--have an estimated 6-year recurrence-rate of 0.8%, statistically indistinguishable from that achieved by the highly specialised Shouldice Clinic. However, the recurrence-rate 2 years after suturing with an alternative polyester-based material is estimated at 8.1%--a figure much more in keeping with rates reported by general surgeons using traditional methods.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003631:Day Care, Medical; D004739:England; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012008:Recurrence; D013536:Suture Techniques