UW Shoulder and Elbow Academy: Safe elective surgery during the COVID19 pandemic

Patients are asking, "is it safe to have elective surgery while the COVID19 pandemic surrounds us?"

We answer this thoughtful question in the following manner.

(1) Elective surgery is elective. This means that the timing of the procedure is up to the discretion of the patient.

(2) Masking, hand washing and screening are and will remain the primary means of assuring safety for patients and health care providers.

(3) Preoperative testing for COVID19 is required for all patients having elective surgery.

(4) Persons with respiratory symptoms or fever or other symptoms of a "cold" or "flu" do not have elective surgery and are not involved in patient care. Everyone is screened for these symptoms on the day of surgery with these questions:

Since your last day of work, or since your last visit to a our facility, have you experienced any of the following symptoms?

A new fever (100.4 F or higher) or a sense of having a fever?
A new cough that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
New shortness of breath that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
A new sore throat that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
New muscle pain that you cannot attribute to another health condition or that may have been caused by a specific activity, such as physical exercise?
New gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
New respiratory symptoms, such as a runny nose, that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
New chills that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
New loss of taste or smell that you cannot attribute to another health condition?
A new headache that you cannot attribute to another health condition or emotional reason?

If you are sick or have one or more of the above symptoms:

You must stay home or leave the facility at which you are working.
Follow your department’s procedure for calling out sick or requesting to work from home.
Contact your health care provider for medical guidance.

(5) Careful preoperative planning is carried out to assure patient safety and to minimize the duration of hospital stay.

(6) Even with the pursuit of vaccines and treatment for COVID19, these precautions that are in effect now are likely to be necessary for years to come; so surgery at this time is likely to be essentially as safe as it will be for the year(s) to come.

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