[Shouldice's operation: can results in a general surgical unit be the same as those in a highly specialized surgical unit?].

In the course of 5 years 1803 groin hernia operations have been carried out, 1640 of them Shouldice operations, in a General Surgery Service. Post operation follow up of patients operated with Shouldice technique has shown 0.72% recurrence in patients checked for over a year, and 2.13% complications. Correct applications of this technique gives the same results as those in specialized centres.