IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PLASTIC & RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY (PRS) PRACTICE: COMPARING MALAYSIA AND OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

In late December 2019, a previous unidentified coronavirus, currently named COVID-19 emerged from Wuhan, China. To date, March 2021 there has been 122.6 million cases worldwide (and still counting).  Plastic, reconstructive surgery (PRS) is one of the many departments that has had to adapt to this pandemic as this specialty deals with both trauma and oncology. Plastic, reconstructive surgery (PRS) is one of the many departments that has had to adapt to this pandemic as it deals with cases of both trauma and oncology. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of COVID-19 outbreak on the specialty of PRS and how the current situation is being managed on an Asian scale. A set of 30 questions were sent to plastic surgeons around Asia, to obtain data. A total of 59 responses were gathered from 18 different Asian countries. The lack of precise and timely development of universal guideline that is customized to the Asian socio-economic has resulted in many dangerous decision-making in affected countries.  Nevertheless, it is commendable that almost every center did its best to optimally function and face the pandemic. It seems appropriate that every healthcare institution should have well-researched and documented protocols for dealing with future inevitable global pandemics.