76 patients were interviewed by telephone 7-10 days after ambulant surgery for varicose veins, hernia inguinalis or sterilization (women). Of those who received spinal anaesthesia 24% developed headache and another 8% back-pain. Half of those who received general anaesthesia were too sleepy to recall the information they were given when they left the hospital. 22% of the patients reported that if they had to undergo the same operation again they would prefer to be admitted to hospital as inpatients. The interviews revealed many "minor" problems that could have been solved by a phone call on the first day after operation.