Some authors recommend different prosthetic repairs for treatment of recurrent groin hernia. In our institution groin hernias are treated by a modified Shouldice-repair, which considers the transversalis fascia layer only. In this prospective study 240 consecutive patients with 298 groin hernias were operated on. 46 patients were treated for 53 recurrent hernias. It was possible to carry out the operative procedure of transversalis plasty in all recurrent cases. 90% of these patients were followed-up by personal examination after a median of 26 months after operation (range 12-36 months). 89% of the patients with primary operation have been checked 15 months postoperatively. 2 patients (4.5%) of the recurrent hernias had a recurrence. This compares well with the 3.2% recurrence rate (7 patients) in the patients with primary hernias. The difference is not significant (p greater than 0.5). The only observed difference between recurrent and primary hernias was in the rate of testicular atrophy (6.8% for recurrent and 0% for primary hernias). According to our experience large prosthetic repairs are not necessary for the common case of recurrent groin hernia, but may be useful in specially selected situations.