Covid-19 information – updated April 2023
Covid-19 is a new type of virus, and continues to rapidly evolve. Like many strains of the common cold, it is in the coronavirus family. However, it is more severe than a cold or a flu in its impact, and is very highly contagious – spreading from person to person very easily. The alpha and delta variants were more severe, but the omicron variant can still affect people very significantly, particularly for those with other medical conditions. Newer variants, like the BQ family of variants, may be more contagious (rapidly spreading) than earlier ones.
Protecting you during your visits to us
Dr. Fiala follows all the recommendations of the national plastic surgery societies (ASPS and the Aesthetic Society), as well as current CDC recommendations.
If you ARE having symptoms of COVID (see list below), regardless of vaccination status:
- please reschedule your appointment until a later date, when you are well. This would be at least 10 days after the onset of any symptoms.
Other protective measures:
- Unless you need physical assistance, please don’t bring extra guests, especially children, to your appointments.
- Please try to have any new patient forms completed before your arrival.
- Please feel free to sanitize your hands when you arrive. Grab a tissue, if you need it. You are also welcome to use any of our sinks in exam rooms for handwashing.
Symptoms of COVID
- If you have any flu-like symptoms, or any of the typical symptoms of COVID, which are NEW, please call us to reschedule, and go to see your primary care physician. These symptoms include:
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- Fever (100.0F)
- Cough or other flu-like respiratory symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle aches/pain
- GI symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of taste or smell
- Conjunctivitis
- Chills / repeated shaking with chills
- Extreme fatigue
- Blue discoloration/ blisters of toes
-
Getting ready for surgery in the COVID era
Having anesthesia and surgery if you have an active case of COVID increases your anesthesia risks significantly.
The latest guidelines from the American Society of Anesthesiologists are to ask all patients if they are having any flu-like or COVID-like symptoms. Those that are having symptoms, even if it seems like a “cold”, will need further investigations.
But mandatory COVID testing for all is no longer required prior to surgery.
After surgery, we will still want you to be cautious about COVID – and avoid people who are “sick”, especially for the first 10 days afterwards. This should help to minimize the chance that you pick up COVID while still in the fresh post-op period.
For safety reasons, the American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends a 7 week delay for elective surgery after an episode of COVID that did not require hospitalization. More severe cases (i.e. treated in a hospital) need more time delay and a medical evaluation.