Follow-up after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair, can it be done by phone? A prospective study in 300 patients, the PINQ-PHONE

Background The most important long-term complications after inguinal hernia repair are chronic pain and recurrence. Previous follow-up studies showed that physical examination is the only reliable method of follow-up to detect recurrences. However, physical examination is laborious and time consuming. We designed a telephone questionnaire as a method of follow-up after laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery; the PINQ-PHONE (Post-INguinal-repair-Questionnaire by telePHONE). The aim of this study is to validate the PINQ-PHONE for detecting both asymptomatic and symptomatic recurrences.