We are doing everything possible to balance the risks of exposure to COVID-19 within the healthcare system with the risks presented by the disease. We are acutely sensitive to the anxiety and stress that any delay in treatment may cause. Hospitals have been identified as a source of infectious spread which is the result of their role in caring for those with the severest COVID-19 infections. Furthermore, every hospital has been required to reduce its capacity for surgery because of the need for ventilators and because of staff shortages as the front line health professionals require quarantine or become ill. In short, the healthcare system is experiencing unprecedented stress.
We are doing everything possible to minimize your exposure and this may mandate postponing procedures and diagnostic tests. As operating capacity improves, those patients who are most at risk will undergo surgery first.
Guidelines regarding the triage of patients requiring urological surgery are being developed. The European Journal of Urology is publishing guidelines that recommend that virutally all urological surgery be postponed with several exceptions. These exceptions include:
- Renal failure by obstruction not amenable to catheter drainage. This includes men awaiting TURP surgery for urinary retention.
- Renal obstruction from stone, especially
- Muscle invasive bladder cancer and bladder tumors where high grade and/or invasion cannot be reliably excluded
- Hematuria where there is a high likelihood of bladder cancer
Surgery that will be rescheduled as there is little immediate risk to a delay of weeks to a few months includes
- Radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer
- Kidney surgery
- Stone surgery with the exception of concurrent infection or bilateral obstruction
- Reconstructive surgery for non-life threatening conditions
- Urodynamics
At this time, we are unable to provide a date for rescheduled surgery. We are experiencing high call volume and would appreciate your patience. Once we have confirmed that you have be reassigned to the wait list you will be called once time becomes available.
Our team of surgeons are assessing timing of surgery on a case by case basis patients at high risk of disability by a delay in surgery.