Thyroid surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic: difficulties- how to improve.

Abstract

In December 2019, the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization after rapidly spreading over the worldin just a few months. All elective operations and nonemergency treatments have been postponed worldwide. However, some patients require surgical therapy aswell, and the time spent waiting should not have a negative impact on the surgical outcome or disease course. Following the initial onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, instructions for proper and safe surgery for healthcare staffand patients should develop. Thyroid surgeries have decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them can be postponed for a long time. Assessment of thyroid nodules recommends clinical examination, imaging studies, fine needle aspiration (FNA) and vocal cord examination. Allthese procedures are necessary, and sometimes they cannot be postponed. To determine the best timing, athorough preoperative assessment should be undertaken, taking into account both oncological and anatomical features. Furthermore, COVID-19 status must be negative prior to any intervention, and hospital infrastructure must beready to deal with the demanding situation.