955 Management of A Progressed SCC Case in the COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Abstract We herein report the case of an elderly patient who underwent amputation of their hand for a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) due to lack of timely treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient had a biopsy-proven SCC of the dorsum of their left hand, first diagnosed in March 2020, before the first lockdown. The lesion was 3cm, mobile, easily excisable, and the defect routinely reconstructable. Unfortunately, a number of appointments were missed and when the patient was eventually seen back in the clinic, the lesion was bigger and firmly fixed to the deeper structures. An urgent wide excision of the lesion with split skin graft reconstruction was planned. Intraoperatively, axillary lymph nodes were identified and a FNAB reported metastatic disease. After a failed attempt to fully resect the hand lesion and salvage the surrounding structures, a joint consultant decision was made that an amputation would give the patient the best chance of survival. Since the patient was lacking capacity, and following a discussion with the family, an above wrist amputation was performed in the patient’s best interests. This case sheds light on the unseen and unrecorded victims of COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, most outpatient follow-up appointments were cancelled, and operating waiting times were significantly increased. National research studies showed that all skin cancer treatments were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this lockdown, there is an urgent need to continue the provision of these services as the risk of untreated skin cancer is even greater.