Sir Ganga Ram Hospital classification of groin and ventral abdominal wall hernias

Numerous classifications for groin and ventral hernias have been proposed over the past five to six decades. The old, simple classification of groin hernia in to direct, inguinal and femoral components is no longer adequate to understand the complex pathophysiology and management of these hernias. The most commonly followed classification for ventral hernias divide them into congenital, acquired, incisional and traumatic, which also does not convey any information regarding the predicted level of difficulty.

All the previous classification systems were based on open hernia repairs and have their own fallacies particularly for uncommon hernias that cannot be classified in these systems. With the advent of laparoscopic/ endoscopic approach, surgical access to the hernia as well as the functional anatomy viewed by the surgeon changed. This change in the surgical approach and functional anatomy opened the doors for newer classifications. The authors have thus proposed a classification system based on the expected level of intraoperative difficulty for endoscopic hernia repair.

In the proposed classification higher grades signify increasing levels of expected intraoperative difficulty. This functional classification grades groin hernias according to the: a) Pre -operative predictive level of difficulty of endoscopic surgery, and b) Intraoperative factors that lead to a difficult repair. Pre operative factors include multiple or pantaloon hernias, recurrent hernias, irreducible and incarcerated hernias. Intraoperative factors include reducibility at operation, degree of descent of the hernial sac and previous hernia repairs. Hernial defects greater than 7 cm in diameter are categorized one grade higher.

Though there have been several classification systems for groin or inguinal hernias, none have been described for total classification of all ventral hernias of the abdomen. The system proposed by us includes all abdominal wall hernias and is a final classification that predicts the expected level of difficulty for an endoscopic hernia repair.