Reply

Excerpt

We thank Drs. Fischer and Fabian (doi: 10.​1007/​s00268-007-9163-7) for their interest in our article. The reherniation rate reported in our randomized clinical trial indeed is high when compared to the results in the literature. However, no prospective trials have been published until now, and none of the published studies have had a well-defined follow-up program, as in our study. Because only a few published series have reported adequate follow-up [1‐5], it is possible that the reherniation rate has been underestimated. Moreover, in our series most reherniations were small and asymptomatic and did not need further reconstruction, so that 89% of the patients were fully satisfied with the result after a “components separation technique” (CST) repair. …