Ethical issues in surgery during COVID-19 pandemic

Surgeons were facing considerable ethical dilemma during this COVID-19 pandemic-whichpatient to select for surgery and which patient to be deferred for a later date. Surgeons also had a difficult taskof protecting themselves and their team and perform a safe surgery without infecting the patient. There were also ethical issues of using Oxygen or an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed during this time for the surgical patient when it was in short supply. A critical factorwas balancing the benefit of surgery for the patient against the risk of contacting the COVID-19 virus and the complications of the disease process.

COVID-19 second wave and doctors death

The Second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about unprecedented mortality amongst the Medical Fraternity. According to the Indian Medical Association, 420 doctors have died during the Second Wave of COVID-19 and the reason is mostly due to late presentation, lack of hospital beds with ventilatory support, crisis in the regular oxygen supply along with deficiency in the availability of few antibiotics and lifesaving medicines. The main point to consider retrospectively now is where few deaths of the doctors preventable and what went wrong in the management during the Second wave of COVID-19.

Are Surgeons Prepared for the Third Wave of Covid-19?

With the second wave of COVID-19 hitting countries like India, the surgical community is fighting to evade getting infected by the virus as well as to continue giving surgical treatment to all the needy patients who need emergent surgical intervention. India faced few challenging problems during the second wave of COVID-19 like lack of hospital beds, live-saving medicines, and oxygen for all types of patients in this pandemic. With the third wave of covid being expected to hit India in October 2021, the surgeons need to make some homework.

Surgeon's dilemma during COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about unprecedented adaptations in healthcare management, be it at a local or global level. Surgeons are facing a lot of dilemmas in the ongoing pandemic regarding the practice. On one side there are compulsions to manage the surgical patients without any hesitation in the operation theatre, there is another side of surgeons where he must return back home safely without self getting infected with the virus. Till the curve flattens, its going to be a surgical challenge and a herculean task for the surgeons at large to fight the COVID-19.