42-year-old Ridvan Trepca's last operation was scheduled for April. Then the doctors would remove his stoma and restore the intestines. After a 17-month battle with cancer, with five surgeries and 12 chemotherapy treatments, he saw an end to the tough period. But suddenly the corona virus struck Sweden and the health care.

- I understood immediately that the last operation would not get rid of, says Ridvan Trepca.

Thousands fewer operations

He's not alone. Since mid-February, the number of planned surgeries has decreased by 63 percent, just last week 5,000 fewer planned surgeries were performed than normal according to the Swedish perioperative register, SPOR.

"It is a very large part of all interventions that will not be done now, it is really only the cancer surgery that we have room for," says Gunnar Enlund, assistant register holder at SPOR and everyday general practitioner at Akademiska hospital in Uppsala.

Long operating queues

The result is that long operating queues are now being built up, which will take a long time to handle. It also causes a great deal of suffering for many patients.

- This is about hip surgery, for example, people are in pain for every step they take and now they have to wait several months for or maybe even longer. We do not know how long it will take, says Gunnar Enlund.

Ridvan's situation is no longer acute and, in consultation with his doctor, they came to postpone the operation this fall.

An obvious decision

Although it was difficult, the decision was obvious to Ridvan.

- I will never be able to give back the help I have received from Swedish healthcare. It goes without saying that I do not want to burden the care right now, he says.

In the video, Ridvan talks about his fight against the cancer and the consequences the cancellation surgery will have on his life.

During a period of 15 months, Ridvan Trepca from Växjö underwent five surgeries and 12 chemotherapy treatments. Finally, the radiographs showed that the tumor was gone. Photo: Private