Most patients stop follow-up while on watchful waiting for inguinal hernia, and younger patients stop most often, according to a retrospective cohort study.
- Of 400 patients on watchful waiting, 240 (60.0%) did not keep scheduled surveillance.
- Discontinuation was 92.9% under age 30, 63.6% at ages 30–50, and 56.4% over age 50.
- Among survey responders, the main reasons were no symptoms (36%) and unawareness of follow-up intervals (27%).
Watchful waiting remains an option for selected asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic patients, but adherence beyond 2 years is poor, so counseling must stress scheduled follow-up, especially for younger patients.
Journal Article by Valinoti AC, Aramburu S (…) Sadava EE et 2 al. in Surg Endosc
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