The following advice is from ANZCA dated May 2023 regarding patients who have had recent infection with Covid 19. This advice is subject to change as new variants and information emerge.
- For most patients, it is safe to proceed with surgery two to three weeks post SARS-CoV-2 infection provided no ongoing symptoms are present. For high-risk patients, an assessment is recommended before proceeding with surgery.
- Patients who are asymptomatic, have returned back to baseline, are vaccinated, aged <70 years and without comorbidity can proceed with non-urgent elective minor surgery (day case) and endoscopy procedures without delay beyond the infectious period
- ALL patient with ongoing symptoms, especially those who have not returned to baseline function and those patients with a history of moderate or more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: recommended delay for non-urgent elective surgery is still 7 weeks.
- If your surgery is urgent, such as for operations for cancer, it may be appropriate to proceed without waiting for these Covid 19 recovery time periods. If you have had severe Covid 19 and/or are not back to normal health, where possible you should see a physician who can assess your fitness for surgery. Cardiorespiratory status and the risk of DVT would form part of this assessment.
- Repeat RAT or PCR testing within 90 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection is not generally recommended
High risk patients would have the following variables:
major surgery, unvaccinated patient, age > 70yo, ASA ≥ 3, symptomatic infection
If you are unsure about this advice you should contact this office.