The Patient’s Perspective: Burn Reconstructive Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hospital systems delayed or halted elective surgeries and outpatient care, profoundly disrupting reconstructive burn treatment ranging from surgery to postoperative therapy. This study aims to characterize burn patients’ perspectives on reconstructive surgery during COVID-19. A 12-component questionnaire to burn patients awaiting reconstructive surgery at a single ABA-verified Burn Center was administered. Responses regarding willingness to undergo reconstruction, perceived medical and personal impacts of COVID-19, and perspectives on telehealth were gathered. Surveys were administered to patients/caregivers over the phone in English and Spanish. Inclusion criteria consisted of burn patients who had elective reconstructive surgeries delayed or canceled as a result of the pandemic. Fifty-one patients met our inclusion criteria. Of those, 23 patients responded to our survey (45%). Average patient age was 23, 43% were male, and a majority (52%) were pediatric. Twenty-two (96%) patients were willing to undergo reconstruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a perceived increased risk. Forty-three percentage of patients disagreed or strongly disagreed that telehealth adequately enabled communication with their burn care provider. Seventy-eight percentage of patients agreed or strongly agreed that they felt more susceptible to COVID-19 as burn patients. Eighty-three percentage of patients agreed or strongly agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic had created stressors specifically related to their burn care. The majority of patients expressed a strong desire to return to surgical and therapeutic care delayed by COVID-19. Patients reported feeling especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic as burn patients and cited difficulty obtaining care and financial stressors as the main causes.