COVID-19 Outbreak and Oncological Surgery Practice

The emergence of COVID-19 has caused a global public health emergency. With the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, the focus is needed on the influence of this rapidly spreading viral infection on cancer patients. In this study, we aimed to address cancer-related operations during the COVID-19 outbreak. We retrospectively reviewed 26 patients who had undergone cancer surgeries admitted from March 13 to May 13, 2020, during the COVID-19 epidemic at Istanbul Bagcilar Training and Research Hospital, as a pandemic hospital. A total of 26 cases of COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. Seventeen (65%) were female, and 9 (35%) were male. The mean age was 52.4 (range 28-74). The mean body mass index (BMI) is 27.8 kg/m² (range 17.6-34.0). Eight of them had comorbidities. 7 patients needed an intensive care unit (ICU). Only one patient was COVID-19 positive in the PCR test, while the others were negative. In addition to this patient, 3 other patients were COVID-19 positive on computed tomography (CT). The patients included in this study underwent various oncologic surgery procedures. While 24 patients were discharged without any problems, 2 patients developed complications. Due to respiratory problems, the patient could not get out of intensive care and died on the sixth postoperative day. It is the obligation of the institutions and the medical staff to reassure patients by creating safe postoperative surgical environments free of COVID-19. Surgeon leaders need to synthesize actual data to make the best decisions for their cancer patients.