Delaware Valley Hospitals Resuming Elective Surgeries That Were Postponed Because Of Pandemic
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With COVID-19 numbers declining, hospitals are now resuming elective procedures that had to be postponed because of the pandemic. For the last two months, hospitals have been focused on dealing with the coronavirus, treating patients, conserving resources and reducing the risk of the virus spreading.
Now, elective procedures that had been on hold are finally getting rescheduled.
Enjoying a lighter moment, Arnoldo Santos shared a facial with his daughter as he recovers from thyroid cancer surgery.
"I'm getting better. I feel good right now, much, much better," Santos said.
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But having cancer and needing surgery during a pandemic is an especially scary situation.
Santos' April 10 operation had to be postponed by Jefferson Hospital.
"When the holds on surgeries first started, it wasn't really clear how long the hold would be and if you don't know exactly how long the patient is waiting, it's difficult to risk assess what the wait will do to them," Dr. David Cognetti said.
Cognetti, a head and neck surgeon at Jefferson, says operations were put on hold mainly to preserve personal protective equipment.
"It was devastating. I was feeling a lot of anxiety. I was anxious, I didn't know how long it was gonna take," Santos said.
Hospitals were able to do emergency and critical cases that couldn't wait, with enhanced safety precautions to limit the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
Santos says his family found ways to distract him while they isolated together waiting for his surgery.
"The only reason he was a candidate for delaying surgery is that the prognosis for thyroid cancer is excellent and the progression -- chance of progression -- in a short time frame is very low, so his prognosis is excellent and remains excellent," Cogentti said.
Santos finally had his surgery on May 8.
"I thank God I have my voice back," he said.
Jefferson and most other hospitals are doing a lot of juggling to catch up on the procedures that had to be postponed.
Elective surgeries are typically more lucrative and a big reason why so many hospitals lost money, in addition to the added costs of handling the pandemic.
