Abstract Between January 1979 and June 1988, 41 men underwent combined inguinal herniorrhaphy and transurethral prostatectomy at the Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición in México. These cases (group 1) were compared retrospectively with 100 consecutive cases of inguinal herniorrhaphy alone (group 2) and 100 consecutive cases of transurethral prostatectomy alone (group 3) during the same period. Group 1 had the highest incidence of preoperative risk factors because of age and associated medical problems. However, there were no significant differences in the rate of operative or postoperative complications between groups. No recurrences of inguinal hernia were recorded in group 1 after a follow-up period of 47.1 months. The length of hospitalization was similar between groups, and no patient died. Our observations suggest that when an inguinal hernia and symptomatic prostatism occur together, combined inguinal herniorrhaphy and transurethral prostatectomy is a practical, safe and effective operative procedure. The advantages of this combined procedure include one anaesthetic period, one operative procedure, one hospital stay and one convalescence with morbidity and mortality rates that are comparable to those of inguinal herniorrhaphy or transurethral prostatectomy alone.