P070 THE IMPACT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMY ON HERNIA SURGERY IN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN CZECH REPUBLIC

Aim The SARS- CoV-2 pandemic has greatly affected health care systems worldwide, including the Czech Republic. However, the degree to which Covid-19 has impacted on hernia surgery is unknown. The aim of this study was to review the hernia surgery workload in a large university teaching hospital department. Material and Methods A computer based medical record system was used to identify all patients undergoing elective and emergency hernia repair of all types from March 1 to November 30, 2020 and for a similar time period in 2019 at the Motol University Hospital, Prague. Results 194 elective hernia operations were undertaken over the study period in 2020, a reduction from the 285 over a similar period in 2019. The number of emergency hernia operations in 2020 was 13 compared to 25 in 2019. Conclusions The SARS –CoV- 2 pandemic has reduced both the number of elective and emergency hernia operations in 2020 compared to 2019. Time will tell if the reduced elective workload will subsequently increase the emergency hernia workload during the recovery from the pandemic.