British surgeons and anesthesiologists believe that surgery after Covid-19 infection should be postponed for seven weeks, regardless of the severity of the disease. The Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Anesthetists of the United Kingdom have advised National Health Service hospitals not to perform scheduled surgery for at least seven weeks after infection with the omicron strain of the coronavirus.
British experts believe that the first two months after infection are the most dangerous, especially during the postoperative period. If emergency surgery is required, it is desirable for the patient to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. These recommendations were published in the medical journal Anaesthesia.
The article states that although there is currently no precise data on how exactly new strains of coronavirus and vaccination affect the outcome of surgery, caution should be exercised and surgery should not be performed within seven weeks of infection. At the same time, medical experts recommend a comprehensive and individualized approach for each patient. Even asymptomatic disease in the case of prior strains, as noted in the article, tripled the risk of a fatal outcome in the postoperative period if surgery was performed within six weeks of infection.
The assumption that an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic course of the disease in the case of infection with the Omikron strain does not lead to an increased risk in the postoperative period is currently unfounded, according to the authors of the article. Experts have classified gastrointestinal, liver and gallbladder, head and neck, cardiovascular, and complex orthopedic surgeries as high risk. Plastic surgery is considered moderate-risk, while eye surgery (such as cataract removal) is considered low-risk.
Colleges of Surgeons and Anesthesiologists recommend that surgery not be performed for at least 10 days after infection to minimize the risk of infecting medical personnel. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. The number of episodes should remain the same. End of story podcast advertisement
Even if there is a medical indication for surgery earlier than seven weeks, it is strongly recommended that surgery be postponed for at least 10 days after infection. Otherwise, there is a significantly increased risk of infecting doctors, nurses, and other patients. At this time, doctors and medical experts are still gathering data on the risks associated with the Omicron variant. Therefore, the recommendations remain the same for now, but specialists say that restrictions will be lifted as new information becomes available.
The president of the Association of Anaesthetists of Britain, Mike Nathanson, said he understood the disappointment of patients whose operations had to be postponed, but added that the entire medical profession wanted to work in a way that ensured the risks were understood and minimized. And one of the authors of the article, Professor Duncan Summerton, said that treating physicians should discuss the situation honestly and openly with patients to decide whether to proceed with surgery immediately or postpone it. In addition, experts noted that the risk of postoperative complications in the first few weeks after infection is virtually nonexistent, so postponing surgery for three weeks instead of seven, for example, does not make medical sense.