BACKGROUND The purpose of the investigation was to examine the use of ambulatory surgery, anesthetic technique, reoperation rates, and reembursement fees after inguinal herniotomy in private outpatients clinics compared to herniotomy in hospital departments. METHODS Information on number of operations performed, choice of anesthetic and surgical technique in private outpatients clinics and hospital departments was extracted from the Danish Hernia Data Base. Information on reembursement fees was obtained from the relevant health authorities and the Danish Medical Association. RESULTS 7.4% of the inguinal herniotomies in Denmark were performed in private outpatients clinics. There was an extended use of local infiltration anesthesia (99%) and ambulatory procedures (99%) compared with 12% and 57% in the hospital departments. The reembursement fee for a herniotomy is approximately 3700 DKK in private outpatients clinics vs. 11,000 DKK in hospital departments. CONCLUSIONS The results of the study showed that the quality of inguinal herniotomy in private outpatients clinics is comparable to herniotomy in hospital departments, but the reembursement fees are lower in private outpatients clinics.