The unique experience of McGillicuddy reflects another advantage ofthe hernia center concept. By concentrating on hernia repairs as his solesurgical practice, he has been able to collect sufficient patient data foranalysis.
We should not be surprised at the low hernia recurrence rate (Shouldice,2%; Lichtenstein, 0.5%). These results in terms of recurrence reflect theresults of reports regularly found in the surgical literature today.1,2