[Surgical treatment of inguinal hernias, using the McVay technic]

The Authors operated on a series of 173 patients with direct, indirect or relapsing hernia and crural hernia by Mc Vay's surgical procedure, of which they outlined the salient aspects. The study led to some statistical considerations with regard to the rate and time of appearance of the various types of subject hernia in the two sexes and also evidenced two cases of post-operative complication very probably due to the technique used. The follow-up evidenced only one case of relapse. Despite the small number of cases and the restricted nature of the follow-up, which varied from two years to six months, the Authors consider that Mc Vay's plastic surgery constitutes a highly reliable technique for treatment of both primitive and relapsing hernias. Particular practical interest attaches to the observation that 90% of patients were operated under epidural anaesthesia, which, given parity of results from the surgical standpoint, involves a considerably lower anaesthesiological risk than other types of anaesthesia.