Patient and Surgical Characteristics Associated with Delay or Cancellation of Elective Gynecologic Surgeries Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify patient characteristics associated with length of delay or not returning for elective benign gynecologic surgical procedures that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Retrospective review of electronic medical records. SETTING: Academic, urban, tertiary hospital system. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Between March 15, 2020, and May 15, 2020, all elective surgical procedures were canceled due to resource limitations. Electronic medical records were reviewed through November 15, 2020, to assess whether patients rescheduled or did not come back for surgery within the following six-month period. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 219 benign gynecologic surgeries were canceled between March 15 and May 15, 2020. 158 (72%) patients returned within the following six months for their procedure, and 61 patients (28%) did not return. Among patients who rescheduled, the length of delay was not correlated with age, race/ethnicity, or route of surgery. There was, however, sufficient data to conclude that length of delay differed by primary indication of surgery (p=.0173). There was an association between not returning for surgery and primary indication of pelvic organ prolapse/ incontinence repair (p=.0203). CONCLUSION: The majority of patients rescheduled their procedure within six months following the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. The primary indication of pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence was associated with a decreased likelihood of returning for surgery within six months.