OUR EXPERIENCE OF ORAL CANCER SURGERY IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Surgical clinical practice suffered a lot during the pandemic of COVID-19 worldwide. Only the emergencies were taken care of, but during the pandemic we realised that curable oral cancers can be disastrous if we wait for the pandemic to end. So, we formulated our institutional guidelines to screen test all the asymptomatic oral cancer patients for COVID-19. All preoperative oral cancer patients were screened for RTPCR ,further for HRCT chest for all RTPCR negative patients. We share our data from 15 April 2020 to 15 August 2020 with details of site and procedures done. During our study period we collected data of operated 23 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma. There were 18 male and 5 female cases in age group of 35-65. Tested with gold standard RTPCR followed by HRCT chest ensured the safety of patient’s attendants and clinical staff. To conclude we observed that that pandemic or not, patient’s treatments should not suffer, there are many who need our skills to give them a hope of survival.