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.