The lockdown effect on gynaecological cancer surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak increased significantly the burden of hospital based services in an international setting. Facilities dealing with cancer cases had to cope with the burden of the disease and with the waiting lists that continuously grow as cancer patients tend to refer with increasing rates in referral centers. Surgical departments with oncological patients had to prioritize patients in order to help provide optimal care, without posing them at risk of a potential infection during their hospitalization. In the present article we report the experience of the Gynecologic oncology section of the First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens during the first 12 months of the pandemic.