Can Outpatient Plastic Surgery Be Done Safely During a COVID-19 Surge? Results of a July 2020 Los Angeles Survey and Literature Review.

Steven Teitelbaum, John Diaz, Robert Singer

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Aesthetic surgery journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

6citing papers in PubMed

1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outcomes and Perioperative Factors Associated with Posterior Cervical Fusion.Spine surgery and related research · 2024
Article
Necrotizing Skin and Soft Tissue Infection after Gluteal Augmentation in a Perioperatively Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patient-Complications of the Post-Lockdown Era? A Case Report.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023
Article
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.Cureus · 2022
Article
History of COVID-19 Was Not Associated With Length of Stay or In-Hospital Complications After Elective Lower Extremity Joint Replacement.Arthroplasty today · 2022
Article
The impact of treatment delay on skin cancer in COVID-19 era: a case-control study.World journal of surgical oncology · 2021
Article
No Patients Having Elective Outpatient Orthopaedic Surgery Performed in an Ambulatory Surgery Center Using Preoperative Screening Protocols During the Coronavirus Pandemic Developed COVID-19.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2021
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Steven TeitelbaumAssociate Clinical Professor (Voluntary) of Plastic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

John Diazprivate practice in Beverly Hills, CA.

Robert SingerClinical Professor (Voluntary) of Plastic Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.

University of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of California, San Diego · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA moratorium was placed on nonurgent surgery throughout much of the United States in mid-March 2020 due to surging numbers of COVID-19 cases. Several months later, and with new safety precautions in place, elective surgery gradually resumed. However, no data exist on the safety of plastic surgery during the pandemic.

objectivesThis aim of this survey was to assess the safety of plastic surgery during the pandemic by quantifying: (1) the preoperative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2; (2) the risk of postoperative COVID-19; (3) outcomes and precious resource utilization for such cases; and (4) the risks to office staff.

methodsLos Angeles plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) were sent an online survey in July 2020, during a local COVID-19 surge, querying about the number of procedures performed in the 8- to 10-week period since reopening, testing policies, surgical complications, and cases among staff.

resultsIn total, 112 surgeons reported 5633 surgeries since resuming elective surgery. Of these, 103 (91.96%) surgeons obtained a preoperative SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for every patient. The preoperative PCR test was positive in 41/5881 (0.69%). Positive tests within 2 weeks postoperation occurred in 7/5380 (0.13%) of surgical patients, 3/8506 (0.04%) of injection patients, and 6/2519 (0.24%) of energy therapy patients. Nine offices reported at least 1 staff member who developed COVID-19. All cases were mild, with no hospitalizations or deaths.

conclusionsThese data demonstrate that plastic surgery can be performed safely during a COVID-19 surge by ABPS diplomates. This has profound impact for patients, plastic surgeons, and health policy regulators.

Indexed as

COVID-19Surgery, PlasticElective Surgical ProceduresHumansLos AngelesOutpatientsSARS-CoV-2Surveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID33026419

DOI10.1093/asj/sjaa287

PMCPMC7665343

OpenAlexW3092594455

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.