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Purpose Long delays in waiting lists have a negative impact on the principles of equity and providing timely access to care. This study aimed to assess waiting lists for abdominal wall hernia repair (incisional ventral vs. inguinal hernia) to define explicit prioritization criteria. Methods A cross-sectional single-center study was designed. Patients in the waiting list for incisional/ventral hernia ( n = 42) and inguinal hernia ( n = 50) repair were interviewed by phone and completed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaires (EQ-5D, COMI-hernia, HerQLes) as a measure of severity. Priority was measured as hernia complexity, patient frailty using the modified frailty index (mFI-11), and the consumption of analgesics for hernia. Results The mean (SD) time on the waiting list was 5.5 (3.2) months (range 1–14). Complex hernia was present in 34.8% of the patients. HRQoL was moderately poor in patients with incisional/ventral hernia (mean HerQL score 66.1), whereas it was moderately good in patients with inguinal hernia (mean COMI-hernia score 3.40). The use of analgesics was higher in patients with incisional/ventral hernia as compared with those with inguinal hernia (1.48 [0.54] vs. 1.31 [0.51], P = 0.021). Worst values of mFI were associated with inguinal hernia as compared with incisional/ventral hernia (0.21 [0.14] vs. 0.12 [0.11]; P = 0.010). Conclusion Explicit criteria for prioritization in the waiting lists may be the consumption of analgesics for patients with incisional/ventral hernia and frailty for patients with inguinal hernia. A reasonable approach seems to establish separate waiting lists for incisional/ventral hernia and inguinal hernia repair.

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Pandemic by the COVID-19 has found us unprotected to provide an adequate and rapid sanitary response. The hospital network of our public health system has provided most of the resources for the treatment of patients affected by the infection. Non-essential (non-priority) surgeries have been postponed. The optimal and proportionate reestablishment of these non-priority surgeries can be a problem. This article offers a technical and non-technical view of reestablishment non-priority surgeries from the perspective of abdominal wall surgery.

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