The wait for surgeries is exploding

The number of Quebecers who have been waiting for more than six months to undergo an operation has exploded by 300% with the pandemic, creating a gigantic delay with serious consequences.

“Not only is there an explosion of cases that have not been done, but there is an expected explosion of cases that have not been diagnosed,” foreshadows the orthopedic surgeon of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC ), Robert Turcotte.

58,000 pending

Already nearly 58,000 Quebecers had been waiting for more than six months to get to the operating room, whether for cataracts, the hip, the knee, day surgery or with hospitalization, as of September 12.

They were only 14,300 for the year 2019-2020, or four times less, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).

But these patients in suspense are increasing constantly, up 300% compared to last year. They now represent nearly half of the approximately 132,000 patients awaiting an operation qualified as non-urgent in Quebec.

The wait has particularly worsened in Montreal in recent months.

Normally, the government’s goal is to operate on 90% of patients within six months. But for the knee and hip, those who missed that deadline now account for half of the pending cases.

“The majority of the increase is due to the pandemic and the offloading of surgical activities during the first wave,” wrote by email Marie-Claude Lacasse, of the MSSS.

“With the second wave, it may not be about to improve”, fears in turn the D^r Réjean Hébert, former Minister of Health and professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Montreal, adding that the lack of personnel also limits the establishments.

Worse it becomes

The D^r Robert Turcotte is also worried about the “sneaky impacts” of these delays, because the longer a person waits, the more their condition deteriorates and their problem worsens, he says.

“The patients who leave [se faire opérer] already more banged up, they ultimately recover less well from the operation, ”argues the specialist.

Waiting also undermines the quality of life of people, often seniors, who find themselves unable to move around. And then some can develop stomach problems with prolonged use of anti – inflammatory drugs, explains Dr.^r Turcotte.

“We will have to be able to open new operating rooms […] a specific budget for catching up, ”underlines Réjean Hébert, adding that the network will have to work extra hard in the face of the colossal task that awaits it.

“We have not yet seen an offer materialize to increase capacity in hospitals and private clinics,” waits for surgeon Robert Turcotte.

“The situation will be managed by a rigorous exercise […] according to the medical priority and the waiting time and by various solutions to increase the capacity, such as for example the use of specialized medical centers ”, specifies the MSSS.

Nearly 58,000 patients waiting

Pending (period more than six months)

Elders in pain who are wasting away

A Terrebonne resident watches helplessly as her 88-year-old mother wastes away, while the oldest has been waiting for more than a year for a hip replacement.

“His sufferings are more and more intense. It’s no longer fair to say that she has difficulty walking, she is in pain without any common sense. She rubs herself with Antiphlogistin, three tubes a week, but nothing relieves her, ”breathes Ginette Lizotte, aged 61.

Her mother, Jeanine Forest-Lizotte, suffers from avascular necrosis. So there is no more blood going to his hip. The arthroplasty she is expecting has been postponed four times, the last date being March 24.

Lately, mother and daughter have been told to hope that the operation will take place within four months.

“Four months, they’re sick! »Enrages the elder, who never leaves her home. “I took my illness patiently, they operated on those who have cancer, it hurts more,” she continues, impatient.

With the second wave, they fear the worst.

“When she walks, you hear the hip drop,” says her daughter. Her legs have become uneven by more than an inch and she now has pain in her knee. “It is linked”, laments M^me Lizotte.

Three years

In La Pocatière, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, Liette Desjardins was told that her 89-year-old mother, blind in one eye, was expected to endure for three years before having cataract surgery.

“What will happen if she falls because she can’t see?” she asks herself. We are not just talking about an eye surgery, it is its autonomy […] If it falls, it’s over, I can’t take care of it anymore, ”she fears.

Impossible to apply within her region, she said. His mother has to wait or spend thousands of dollars in the private sector.

For nothing

In Laval, Suzanne St-André, was lucky to be able to have hip surgery this month. The Rigaud resident was tested for COVID-19 the day before.

But the result never arrived on the day of the operation. After eight hours of waiting and on an empty stomach since the day before, she had to return home. “It’s inhuman,” she says, hoping the next time will be good.