OBJECTIVE: to compare late results (recurrence) of three different techniques for treatment of inguinal hernias in the adult: Bassini, Shouldice and McVay. PATIENTS AND METHODS: the operative late results of three surgical techniques: Bassini, Shouldice and McVay in 119 adult patients with inguinal hernias (some with bilateral pathology, totalizing 136 hernias) were analyzed. The majority of patients were males (93.3%). The analysis was prospective, randomized, with uniform distribution of all three types of inguinal hernia (direct, indirect and combined) among the three groups of operative techniques.The number of recurrences was submitted to an actuarial analysis for a period of 4 years. The results underwent statistical analysis by the Kaplan-Mayer test with actuarial survival curves. RESULTS: Eight hernia operations by the Bassini technique recurred in this time span, 3 in the Shouldice group and 2 in McVay. Among the Bassini recurrences, the worst results were observed with direct hernias (29% recurrence) when compared with indirect ones (16% recurrence). Overall recurrence rates plotted in an actuarial survival curve for 4 years , revealed statistically significant differences between Bassini and Shouldice: 35.7% versus 23.7%; the same happened when comparing Bassini to McVay: 35.7% versus 8.5%. The differences between Shouldice and McVay were not significant. CONCLUSION: a recurrence rate of 35,7% for inguinal herniorraphy with the Bassini technique in a General Surgery University Clinic was surprising and obliged us to interrupt the trial. Our observations point to a prohibitive high failure rate when dealing with the Bassini technique, which was, over a century, the most popular treatment of inguinal hernia all over the world. Shouldice and McVay techniques, even though more complex, should be preferred whenever one makes the choice for "conventional" hernia treatment.
