ROTHENBERG and Barnett,16in 1955, proposed bilateral exploration of infants and children undergoing unilateral herniorrhaphy. While the possibility of adopting such a routine policy has been endorsed enthusiastically by several surgeons1,6,8-10,12,19and accepted with certain restrictions by others,2,11some authors have voiced opposition to this recommendation.7,17,18,20 Mueller and Rader12reported their experience with 90 infants and children in the first 7 years of life. In 75 patients with clinical unilateral hernia, 60% were observed to have bilateral hernias at operation. In 1958, Clausen et al1reported that of 164 young patients undergoing bilateral exploration, 48% had a contralateral hernia, the rate being 73% for infants under 6 months of age. In 1959, Kiesewetter and Parenzan6reported that of 237 patients who underwent repair of a hernia, 31% returned later with another hernia on the opposite side. These authors also reported the results of