Is it safe to perform elective gynaecologic surgery during the two peaks of COVID-19 pandemic?

In December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic started in China and spread around the World. Operations were postponed in most surgical clinics to reduce the risk of contamination and increase the number of beds available in hospitals. We investigate whether elective gynaecologic surgery is safe or not under safety measures.

A total of 765 patients were operated on electively between 15 March and 30 October 2020 at our inpatient gynaecology clinic. We took the SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Transcriptase (RT) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test of the nasopharyngeal swab before and after the surgery. Patients were questioned for COVID-19 symptoms by phone calls on the 7th, 15th, 30th and 60th days postoperatively.

The average age of patients was 45.6 ± 11(19-81). Sixty-two (8.1%) operations were performed due to gynaecologic malignancies. Three patients (0.39%) were detected as SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR positive within 7 days after surgery. The patients did not need ICU admission or any further treatments.

Our study offers a novel perspective on elective surgery during a pandemic. The risk assessment of patients should be meticulously done and substantiated on objective variables. According to our study, in a carefully selected patient population, operating under appropriate precautions, elective gynaecologic surgical procedures during the two peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic do not pose a risk to the patients.