Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul 9:57:24-36.
doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2020.07.003. eCollection 2020 Sep.

A scoping review of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on surgical practice

Amjad Soltany  1 , Mohammed Hamouda  2 , Ansam Ghzawi  3 , Ahmed Sharaqi  4 , Ahmed Negida  5   6 , Shaimaa Soliman  7 , Amira Yasmine Benmelouka  8
Affiliations
Free PMC article

A scoping review of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on surgical practice

Amjad Soltany et al. Ann Med Surg (Lond). .
Free PMC article

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the infrastructure of the healthcare systems. To cope with the pandemic, substantial changes were introduced to surgical practice and education all over the world.

Methods: A scoping search in PubMed and Google Scholar was done using the search terms: "Coronavirus," "COVID-19", "SARS-CoV-2", "nCoV-2019", and "surgery." They were either searched individually or in combination. All relevant articles of any study design (published within December 15, 2019, till the mid of June 2020), were included and narratively discussed in this review.

Results: Sixty-six articles were reviewed in this article. Through these articles, we provide guidance and recommendations on the preoperative preparation and safety precautions, intraoperative precautions, postoperative precautions, postoperative complications (related to COVID-19), surgical scheduling, emergency surgeries, elective surgeries, cancer surgery, psychological impact on surgical teams, and surgical training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly all aspects of surgical procedures, scheduling, and staffing. Special precautions were taken before, during, or after surgeries. New treatment and teaching modalities emerged in response to the pandemic. Psychological support and training platforms are necessary for the surgical team.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Emergency; Surgery; Telemedicine; World health organization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Apr 22;: - PubMed
    1. Dermatol Ther. 2020 Jun 8;:e13778 - PubMed
    1. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2020 Sep;34(9):2331-2337 - PubMed
    1. Oral Oncol. 2014 Apr;50(4):282-90 - PubMed
    1. J Neurosurg. 2020 Apr 10;:1-2 - PubMed

Publication types