Open AccessLight at the end of the tunnel
Author(s) -
Mark Lee,
Mark W. Ashton
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australasian journal of plastic surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2209-170X
DOI - 10.34239/ajops.v4n1.296
Subject(s) - specialty , medicine , excuse , service (business) , affect (linguistics) , covid-19 , business , medical emergency , intensive care medicine , disease , psychology , psychiatry , political science , marketing , law , communication , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
It is not hard to list some of the profound effects COVID-19 has had on the specialty of plastic surgery. World-wide many of our colleagues have suffered serious illness and many have died. Even in countries like Australia and New Zealand, relatively spared from the ravages of the disease, we have all had significant disruptions to our lives and practicesLimitations on elective surgery during lockdown, reduced rates of screening for breast cancer and melanoma (Figure 1), consulting with masks—all affect our ability to provide a safe and effective service for our patients. Eminent plastic surgeons choosing to take early retirement is a great loss of institutional memory. Opportunistic governments and administrators taking advantage and using COVID-19 as an excuse to push through ‘urgent’ changes challenge our ability to provide a safe and effective service