THE PERMANENCE of cure following the surgical treatment of perforated duodenal ulcers has long been the subject of much speculation. Throughout the literature there seems to be a note of extreme optimism, which suggests that the majority of persons who have had a perforation can look forward to a future free from ulcer distress. In one series published in 1936 the author states that 95% of the patients who underwent simple closure of a perforated ulcer remained well in the ensuing follow-up which extended over a 26 yr. period. For many years now a group at the Toronto General Hospital have been especially interested in all aspects of the problem of perforated ulcers. In a former communication, published in 1944, we presented the details of the immediate management of 114 cases. In this paper I should like to describe what has happened to the patients in this series in a