Assessment of the postoperative visit after routine inguinal hernia repair: a prospective randomized trial.
Treatment of pediatric patients undergoing routine inguinal hernia repair usually includes a postoperative clinic visit. We prospectively assessed the necessity for the traditional postoperative visit. One hundred patients undergoing a routine inguinal hernia repair were randomly selected to receive either a follow-up visit at 4 weeks or a detailed instruction sheet and no follow-up visit. Parents were given a telephone questionnaire to determine overall satisfaction with their child's care and the usefulness of the follow-up visit or instruction sheet. Forty-seven of 50 parents of patients randomly assigned to a follow-up clinic visit (FU) and all 50 parents in the no follow-up group (NFU) completed the questionnaire. Sixty-eight percent of the FU group found the follow-up visit "helpful" and 59% found it "necessary." Fifty-six percent would have been satisfied with a telephone call instead of a visit. In the NFU group only 4% thought a follow-up visit would have been "helpful" and 4% thought a visit was "necessary." Ninety-six percent found the postoperative instruction sheet "helpful." There was no difference between groups in overall satisfaction with the care received as assessed on a 5-point scale (4.7 FU group v 4.7 NFU group). Accurate postoperative instruction and open access to follow-up when required is as effective as the traditional postoperative clinic visit for patients who have undergone routine inguinal hernia repair.
Khan
Y
Y
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital at Chedoke-McMaster, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Fitzgerald
P
P
Walton
M
M
D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies