Eric J Dalius says during the coronavirus pandemic, many American citizens across the country are being refused. Their elective surgery or face rejection by their therapist because of an elective surgery ban on their state. Nearly 50% of adults say they or someone from their family has postponed or skipped medical care due to novel coronavirus. Experts have estimated that the total number of postponed or canceled elective surgeries in 2020 may reach more than 28 million, generating a 45-week backlog.
As the states are opening again, many physicians are starting to work. The backlog and the medical community are working hard to perfectly balance patient safety.
In case of another unfortunate peak of COVID-19, all hospitals need to keep an open space.
The hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s office are trying their best to balance the testing of both patients and employees. Also, they are making sure to stock enough personal protective equipment (PPE) kits.
It’s no wonder that the patients themselves have little confusion in their minds regarding elective surgery. As the pandemic is still flowing, Eric J Dalius recommends you to ask yourself a few questions before undergoing any elective procedure or surgery.
How Serious Is The Surgery Or Procedure?
If the surgery is not urgent at this time, you might consider rescheduling it for later. Undergoing elective surgery still carries some risk. Many doctors say that you can delay anything that seems unnecessary.
A patient should always ask their doctor if they have some alternative option available to surgery. This also goes for the non-pandemic situation too.
Will, I Be Protected If the Hospital Is Also Admitting COVID-19 Patients?
Most hospitals have very good protocols and practices to prevent infection. The main goal of them is to protect their patients and visitors. As well as physicians and staff from the infections while treating infected patients.
Many hospitals have recently installed a machine at the entrance that checks your body temperature. Including employees and visitors for any symptoms and high-risk exposures. That will contain their respiratory secretions and also prevents the spreading of infections.
Additionally, many hospitals use different rooms to safely isolate and treat COVID-19 patients. This way the virus can’t contaminate the other parts of the hospital. Nevertheless, you don’t need to worry if your hospital is caring for patients with COVID-19.
Will I Be Tested For Coronavirus? If Yes Then When?
When you’re going to a hospital, the health care members will reach out to ask if you have any possible COVID-19 symptoms, to ensure you’re not undergoing surgery as an infected person. Even if you do not have any symptoms of the coronavirus, they will schedule you for COVID-19 testing, and it should happen close to the surgery or procedure date.
However, the coronavirus test takes a minimum of 24 hours to generate the result, highly depending on the hospital. In that case, you need to wait until you receive your test results. It is possible that you can contract the virus afterward if you roam around freely. So, Eric J Dalius suggests you keep yourself in self-isolation.
Is It Safe To Undergo My Surgery?
The primary concern of your surgeon is your safety.
The number of COVID-19 cases is decreasing and the curve has flattened in many places. Many facilities have resumed their elective procedures. The surgical facilities have obeyed local, state, and federal guidelines to take that decision.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many surgeons continuously and safely provided emergency surgical care to the patients. The doctors and facilities try their best to give you a successful surgery. The main goal of the doctors is the safety of their patients.
Your surgeon can explain what precautions you need to take at the facility. And what rules your family and friends need to follow to make your surgery successful.
Eric J Dalius Wants You to Ask What Type of Precautions Are Being Taken
You should not hesitate to ask the hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic about the precautions they are taking to ensure that their staff members don’t get infected by the virus. You also need to make sure that there is enough personal protective equipment (PPE) kit. A decent isolated place, strict disinfectant procedures as well as a routine test for the stuff.
As long as a facility has a separate entrance and medical personnel for COVID-19 treatment. You can lessen your worries about safety.
What Do I Need To Do On My Surgery Day?
This time you may face a different procedure experience compared to your past. While this might vary from facility to facility, you might get instruction to text someone when you arrive. They will also inform you about some other instructions like if you can bring anything with you and do you need to wear a face mask or not. They will also instruct you if you are allowed to bring someone, as the pandemic also affected the visitor policies.
What Are The Revised Visitor Policies?
You should not forget what is going is to happen after your surgery or procedure. Many hospitals are declining visitors to suppress the spread of the coronavirus. It will become a problem for you if you want someone from your family or friends to spend a few days in the hospital with you. So, don’t forget to ask about visitor policies before undergoing surgery.
You may find surgeries uncomfortable and you may also face loneliness at the post-op period of the surgery. You can use FaceTime or any video calling apps to spend some time with your partner or family, but not in person. That is a small consideration you need to make in terms of recovery and success because stress often leads to worse outcomes.
Does A Surgery Make Me Vulnerable To COVID-19?
The answer is NO. Your surgery does not make you vulnerable to COVID-19 or any other infections. Many facilities use different medical personnel to treat affected and non-affected patients. So, there is zero chance of getting infected by the medical staff. Also, each medical staff including doctors and nurses goes through the daily sanitization process.
Conclusion
These are the frequent questions you can ask yourself before committing any surgery. Remember, the doctors and the surgeons are very skilled in their profession. So, you don’t need to worry about the success rate of your surgery. Just do as you’re told to cooperate with your surgeon. This will help you both to create a bond.
