Impact of COVID -19 Pandemic on Plastic Surgery Practices in a Tertiary Care Set Up in Southern India

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has modified the way, plastic surgeons treat their patients. This article depicts how we as a plastic surgery department in a tertiary care setup handled the pandemic with an emphasis on infection control policy. Methods: Data was collected from hospital records and quality assurance cell from March 21, 2020 to June 19, 2020 in terms of patient triaging, consultations, perioperative protocols, duty rosters, and academic activities. The changes on these with the impact of COVID-19 were studied with the same period of previous year. Results: Outpatient clinics were closed and emergency consultations were reduced. Number of consultations reduced from 2591 to 75 and surgeries from 320 to 46 during the same period in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Though tele-consultations were helpful, the overall benefits were subpar. Emergency services continued with the guidelines of institute's infection control committee, such as area specific personal protective equipment, allotment of operating rooms, minimizing the crowd in operating room. There was some compromise in using accessories for microsurgical procedures. Duty rosters were designed to maintain uninterrupted services. Academic activities were continued with virtual platforms. Conclusion: Adequate preparation of health care setup and nation-wide lockdown has helped to handle emergency cases and in reduction of trauma-surgeries respectively. Though there were obstacles for some patients in accessing health care, our institutional response made us to render maximum possible care. Advancements in virtual platform helped in consultations and academics. Delayed conservative approach was used in most cases at the expense of cosmetic compromise.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on the Patterns and Characteristics of Plastic Surgery Practice: A Retrospective Comparative Study of Before and During the Pandemic

“…The reduction was particularly remarkable during the lockdown period from March 25 to June 21, 2020, with a reduction rate of 94.44%. This finding is consistent with other similar studies conducted in Iran and southern India, where a significant decline in the number of plastic surgeries conducted after the pandemic was reported [ 8 , 12 ]. The reduction in the admission rate is thought to be partly due to the hospital's policy of prioritizing urgent and emergent cases and partly because of patients' fear of contracting COVID-19 infection in the hospital.…”

“…Since the beginning of the pandemic, several studies reporting the impact of COVID-19 on plastic surgery have been published. These studies all showed a significant decline in the number of surgeries in both academic and private practice and, to a greater extent, in private practice [ 5 - 8 ]. As the number of cases began to decline, restrictions on elective surgeries began to decrease.…”