Laparoscopy and endoscopy, surgery’s biggest boons to patients owing to smaller incisions, lesser blood loss and reduced post-operative hospitalisation while minimising pain, have run into a giant speed-breaker and are staring at their biggest challenge to date: Covid-19.
Most elective surgeries that use the minimal invasive method have been indefinitely postponed. And procedures deemed urgent are tightrope walks for OT pros weighing the risks of balancing surgical precision with protecting staff from virus contamination. Robotic surgeries that put assisting staff or surgical scrub nurses at risk have also been stopped for the moment.Speaking on behalf of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), Dr Dean Mikami MD, division chief, general surgery at John A Burn School at Hawaii, says American medical bodies have recommended that elective laparoscopic and endoscopic cases be postponed.
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