Quick blog, but Covid presented a new and exciting challenge for us aesthetic surgeons doing elective surgery. What protocols do we use? Can we do surgery safely?
This was a study published in Feb 2021, Aesthetic Surgery Journal. “Evaluating Postoperative Outcomes of Patients Undergoing elective Procedures in an Ambulatory Surgery center During the COVID 19 Pandemic.”
Study:
- Elective procedures during March and April, 2020
- Complications were evaluated: pneumonia, stroke, heart attack, clotting
- 300 consecutive cases were included
- No patients were found with COVID 19 symptoms postop.
- Their protocol:
-
- 7 days prior: self monitor for temperature, or other symptoms
- 3 days prior: telephone screen
- Day of: they must wear a mask. All staff wore gloves/masks/face shields, temperature screening was done. All surgical staff wore N95s and not needed staff exited room for intubation/extubation
- NOTE: Due to the early timing of this study, they could not test all patients for COVID.
-
They concluded their proper screening and patients selection allowed elective procedures to be safely performed.
My thoughts?
We did more than they did in this study. All patients were tested for Covid prior to surgery (as we did not start operating again until May, when Covid tests were more readily available), we only allowed the actual patients into the facility, all staff were masked 100% of the time in the facility. We too were successful in our operating during this time. It is good to know that solid protocols and scientific practices can keep us safe. Covid I am sure is not the last of infectious diseases to plague us, and I think some of the good practices we employed during this time will carry forward to make elective surgery even safer.