OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of a written questionnaire in the follow-up of patients after inguinal hernia repair. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University and two district hospitals. The Netherlands. SUBJECTS: 314 patients with 362 inguinal hernias. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlation between answers to questionnaire and clinical examination in the diagnosis of recurrent hernias. RESULTS: 13/24 recurrences (54%) after a mean follow-up of 33 months with a follow-up rate of 93% were not diagnosed by the questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Follow-up after hernia repair must be by physical examination.
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Vos et al. (2002) studied this question.