Summary
A November 1998 survey of 50 North American and 25 European hernia surgeons revealed that 4 different classification systems for inguinal hernias are in active use today. Almost half of these specialists use the generic traditional system of indirect, direct and femoral. The 4 systems and their origins are reviewed, and a unified classification is proposed. The unified system 1) divides the Indirect and Direct categories into small and large based on size or loss of anatomic function; 2) defines combined as any inguinal hernia that has both Indirect and Direct defects; and 3) creates an Other category for infrequent, hard to classify inguinal-femoral hernias.
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Zollinger, R.M. A unified classification for inguinal hernias. Hernia 3, 195–200 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01194426
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01194426