ELECTIVE GYNECOLOGICAL SURGERY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A SINGLE CENTER EXPERIENCE

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the experience of a tertiary health center about the elective gynecological operations between the two peaks of COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review of 609 patients who underwent elective gynecological surgery at Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Hospital from 15 March 2020 to 30 April 2021. RESULTS: All patients tested negative for COVID-19 preoperatively and 17 patients (2.8%) contracted COVID-19 during the 8-week-long period after the hospital discharge. The averagetime to test positivity was calculated as 4.0±1.3 weeks (range:2-7 weeks). The most common indications for elective gynecological surgeries were abnormal bleeding (30.9%), adnexal mass (19.2%) and uterine leiomyoma (16.9%). Operative hysteroscopy was the most performed gynecological operation (26%),followed by abdominal hysterectomy (17.6%) and laparoscopic hysterectomy (16.2%). The concurrence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, incompetent cervix and cervical cerclage wassignificantly more prevalent in the patients who tested positive for COVID-19 after surgery (p=0.001 for all). The patients whotested positive for COVID-19 following hospital discharge andthose who did not contract COVID-19 were statistically similarwith respect to postoperative complications and duration ofhospitalization. Four patients (0.65%) who underwent electivegynecological surgery died within 8 weeks following the hospital discharge. None of the deaths were related to COVID-19infection. CONCLUSIONS: Performing elective gynecological surgery appears as a safe approach during COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrent existence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus and cervical cerclage might be associated with postoperative contagion of COVID-19.