Conclusions
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on society so far. Future
consequences are not yet fully quantifiable. In Switzerland, measures to
limit the impact of the pandemic were implemented early, which had an
impact on controlling the spread of the disease and associated
mortality.
The associated restriction of elective surgical activity has had an
impact on surgical programs, observing a slow but progressive recovery.
In our environment, we have not detected infections from cardiac surgery
personnel or surgical mortality associated with infection.
The incidence of ECMO implants in Switzerland has been lower than in
other countries. Locally, at USZ, the development of our ECMO program
has enabled the implantation and transportation of COVID-19 patients
from distant institutions.