Authors
Awe O. O.
Abstract
The COVID-19 Pandemic is the most recent and ongoing pandemic with the most devastating consequences
economically, politically, academically and socially due to the high fluidity of human movement in the 21st
century. COVID-19 means coronavirus disease 2019 first detected in Wuhan, China in November 2019. It
causes a severe form of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The scare of the disease made most countries shut
down practically all social, academic, economic and political activities including health services except
emergencies and those related to COVID-19. However, the plastic surgery unit of the Irrua Specialist Teaching
Hospital ( ISTH) operates on patients who came during the pandemic for surgical services after the COVID-19
polymerase chain reaction test has been done. All patients who had negative polymerase chain reaction tests
and those who had negative tests following treatment for COVID-19 had their surgery. Methodology and
method: This is a retrospective study of all the patients who had surgeries in the Plastic Surgery unit,
Department of Surgery of IST), Irrua done between April to October 2020. ISTH has the Institute of Lassa
Fever Research, a Centre of excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever. The
Hospital is one of the first three (3) centres accredited by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for
the diagnosis of COVID-19 in February 2020. The data were retrieved from the Operation Diary and the
patient’s case notes. RESULTS: A total of 232 patients were booked for surgery by the Plastic Surgery Unit
during the period under consideration. All the patients were screened for COVID-19, but only 17(7.3%)
patients had positive tests (14 were asymptomatic while the remaining were symptomatic) for the coronavirus.
Surgeries were performed on 228 patients including 13 who were initially positive for the virus. These positive
patients had their surgeries after appropriate treatment, except four patients who did not return for their
surgeries. Most of the patients had elective surgeries (92.7%). The majority of the patients were in the first six
decades of life, with those in the third, fourth- and fifth decades accounting for 60.4%. Conclusion: In the
Plastic Surgery unit, only 6.25% were diagnosed with COVID-19 among the patients who had elective
surgeries. This findings suggest that prompt and reliable diagnostic tests. However, surgeons, anesthesiologists
and peri-operative nurses should adhere strictly to universal precautions. More so the end to the pandemic is
not in sight
economically, politically, academically and socially due to the high fluidity of human movement in the 21st
century. COVID-19 means coronavirus disease 2019 first detected in Wuhan, China in November 2019. It
causes a severe form of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The scare of the disease made most countries shut
down practically all social, academic, economic and political activities including health services except
emergencies and those related to COVID-19. However, the plastic surgery unit of the Irrua Specialist Teaching
Hospital ( ISTH) operates on patients who came during the pandemic for surgical services after the COVID-19
polymerase chain reaction test has been done. All patients who had negative polymerase chain reaction tests
and those who had negative tests following treatment for COVID-19 had their surgery. Methodology and
method: This is a retrospective study of all the patients who had surgeries in the Plastic Surgery unit,
Department of Surgery of IST), Irrua done between April to October 2020. ISTH has the Institute of Lassa
Fever Research, a Centre of excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever. The
Hospital is one of the first three (3) centres accredited by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for
the diagnosis of COVID-19 in February 2020. The data were retrieved from the Operation Diary and the
patient’s case notes. RESULTS: A total of 232 patients were booked for surgery by the Plastic Surgery Unit
during the period under consideration. All the patients were screened for COVID-19, but only 17(7.3%)
patients had positive tests (14 were asymptomatic while the remaining were symptomatic) for the coronavirus.
Surgeries were performed on 228 patients including 13 who were initially positive for the virus. These positive
patients had their surgeries after appropriate treatment, except four patients who did not return for their
surgeries. Most of the patients had elective surgeries (92.7%). The majority of the patients were in the first six
decades of life, with those in the third, fourth- and fifth decades accounting for 60.4%. Conclusion: In the
Plastic Surgery unit, only 6.25% were diagnosed with COVID-19 among the patients who had elective
surgeries. This findings suggest that prompt and reliable diagnostic tests. However, surgeons, anesthesiologists
and peri-operative nurses should adhere strictly to universal precautions. More so the end to the pandemic is
not in sight
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