Plastic Surgery Safety Precautions during the COVID-19 Era

With the lockdown in the ongoing Coronavirus crisis easing up, people are getting back to their normal life. The healthcare centers are also resuming their medical services to the patients and the plastic surgery clinics are no different. You may also have to visit your plastic surgeon to undergo a long pending treatment or to discuss a cosmetic procedure you want the surgeon to carry out on your body. In any such event, you should make sure that the surgeon along with the surgical staff is abiding strictly by the essential safety measures.
 

Important safety Measures

Find out if your surgeon follows these protocols:
• Does online consultations as much as possible
• Has a dedicated guard to conduct screening of patients and staff at the clinic for COVID-19.
• The guard should have up-to-date equipment for thermal scanning of the entrants.
• There is a sanitizing machine installed at the entry point of the clinic so that every person enters the premises after being sanitized.
• Makes it mandatory for the patients to wear face masks
• Restricts the appointments of patients for physical examination only
• Limits the number of patients in the waiting rooms
• The surgeon and his staff wears Personal Protective Equipment or PPE and face masks properly
• Urges the attendants with the patients to remain outside the waiting room
• Has a protective shield installed between the patients and the hospital staff
 

Specific Instructions for the patients

As obvious, the plastic surgery patients also need to follow some specific protocols in the wake of COVID-19:
• Reschedule the appointment if you are not feeling well
• Be on time at the appointment venue to avoid inconvenience to the surgeon and the other patients
• While in the waiting room, maintain a distance of at least 6 ft. (or 2 meters) with other patients
• If you could wait in your private vehicle till your turn comes, it is even better
• Do not accompany any elder or infant during your visit to the clinic
• For payment, prefer card to cash
• Keep a pocket sanitizer handy with you
 

Precautions for Plastic Surgery procedure

If you are arriving for your plastic surgery appointment, sanitize yourself properly with soap and water before exiting the home. Make sure that the part of your body that needs injectable or fillers is duly clean and free of make-up. Here are some additional safety measures that the plastic surgeons would usually encourage the patients to follow:
• Maintain social distancing for at least two weeks before going for the surgery
• Monitor body temperature on daily basis
• It’s better not to leave the house unless urgency
• In case of leaving the house, make sure to wear fitted masks
• Abide strictly by self-hygiene measures.
 
In addition, the surgeon should measure the body temperature of the patients around three days prior to the surgery and on the surgery day itself. Moreover, the patient should answer all the health related questions to the surgeon honestly. All these efforts can help to minimize the potential threats of COVID-19 appreciably.
 

Surgical Environment

The hospitals or clinics should also ensure performing the surgery in a duly sanitized and sterilized environment. The surgeon and the staff should focus on and serve an individual patient only at a time. Further, the surgeon should have an accredited room in a private setup. It should be well equipped with all the necessary equipment and have due concern to sanitization norms. The surgical staff should also pay attention to maintaining health and safety of the patients at par. Working on all these precautions will enable the patient to feel safe and confident about the risk free measures of the surgical team.
 

Precautions at home

In addition to following the surgery related safety norms, you can practice several measures at home. Abiding by these measures in your daily life will work effectively in keeping the apprehensions of coronavirus at bay from your and your dear ones.
 
• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with water and soap often
• Make sure to wash hands every time your sneeze or cough
• Even better would be to cover your mouth with a tissue every time you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the dustbin after use.
• Refrain from touching your facial area, especially with dirty hands
• Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth or face mask.
• If you notice even minor symptoms of fever, it is better to quarantine yourself at home for the next few days
• In any such case, fix an online appointment with your doctor and follow all the instructions that he recommends
 

Want to fix an appointment?

You can get the appointment of a plastic surgeon around you even during the COVID-19 times, if the surgery is becoming unavoidable. However, you should make sure to approach a board certified surgeon who cares to restore your aesthetic appearance. Any such professional would be more trustworthy in terms of maintaining a hygienic and healthy environment around the surgical setup. In the ongoing period of Coronavirus pandemic, these measures would be extremely beneficial in keeping you safe and healthy during and after the surgery.