[Cost of the surgical treatment of inguinal hernias].

The hospital stay of 100 patients admitted to hospital in 1988 for surgical repair of inguinal and crural hernias was analysed. Fifty-three per cent of patients were over the age of 60 years and more than one half of them has a medical history. There was no mortality and only a single serious complication. The mean hospital stay was 7.6 days, influenced by the age of the patients. The complementary investigations only constituted a small proportion of the cost of the hospital stay. The authors conclude on the necessity for further reduce the length of hospital stay (principal cost factor) and even propose day admission, although this alternative can only be proposed to a minority of patients.