Design and implementation of the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative (AHSQC): improving value in hernia care

Purpose A classification for primary and incisional abdominal wall hernias is needed to allow comparison of publications and future studies on these hernias. It is important to know whether the populations described in different studies are comparable. Methods Several members of the EHS board and some invitees gathered for 2 days to discuss the development of an EHS classification for primary and incisional abdominal wall hernias. Results To distinguish primary and incisional abdominal wall hernias, a separate classification based on localisation and size as the major risk factors was proposed. Further data are needed to define the optimal size variable for classification of incisional hernias in order to distinguish subgroups with differences in outcome. Conclusions A classification for primary abdominal wall hernias and a division into subgroups for incisional abdominal wall hernias, concerning the localisation of the hernia, was formulated.

The lack of a universally accepted classification system for incisional hernia repair has led to inconsistent reporting of ventral hernia repairs, the inability to compare various series, and the lack of appropriate risk adjusted stratification systems to evaluate surgical outcomes. This study evaluates the Ventral Hernia Working Group's (VHWG) grading scale to accurately predict surgical site occurrence (SSO) after open ventral hernia repair.

Success of a surgical intervention is often measured by hard clinical outcomes. In ventral hernia repair (VHR) these include wound morbidity and hernia recurrence. These outcomes fail to account for a surgical intervention's effect on a patient's quality of life (QofL). Our objective was to design a hernia-specific QofL instrument with a focus on abdominal wall function, evaluate its measurement properties, and assess the impact of VHR on QofL using this new instrument.