Hernia surgery is cost effective, finds UK study

Elective hernia surgery presents value for money for the NHS, a study has found, contradicting recent guidelines suggesting that the operation was of “low clinical value” and that commissioners should consider restricting it. The latest analysis used patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) from nearly 17 500 patients who had a hernia operation in England between 1 April 2009 and 31 Match 2010. These data have been collected routinely in the NHS since 2009, before and at least three months after patients undergo hernia repair. Researchers from the think tank the King’s Fund and Imperial College London combined these outcomes with costs …