COVID-19 AND ELECTIVE SURGERY

Due to the nature of the current situation surrounding COVID-19, there has been a lot of speculation regarding cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, public health officials recommend that anyone who has been overseas in the last 14 days or who has been in contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 while infectious must self-isolate for 14 days following last contact.

With regards to plastic surgery clinics, like Panthea, the following recommendations are in place:

• All non-urgent elective surgery is temporarily suspended. Only Category 1 and some exceptional Category 2 surgery will continue until further notice.
  • Category 1 is where surgery is indicated within 30 days (also referred to as urgent). These include skin cancer surgeries, any hand repairs such as nerve repair, tendon repair or finger fractures, as well as breast implant ruptures.
  • Category 2 is where surgery is indicated within 90 days (also referred to as semi-urgent). These include some non-melanoma skin cancer surgeries.
• For urgent surgery only, staff are required to ask patients at the time of booking confirmation if they have:
  • Been overseas in the last 14 days. If you have, then your surgery will be postponed until 14 days after the last contact day if it will not significantly impact patient outcomes – this decision will require discussion with the clinical team.
  • Been in close contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 while infectious, during the 14 days before their scheduled surgery. If you have, then your surgery will be re-scheduled as soon as practicable after the 14 day exclusion period has lapsed.

If you have an appointment scheduled at Panthea, or any other clinic for that matter, please inform the staff if you have a fever or an acute respiratory illness. You will be asked to seek health advice (from your GP or by calling healthdirect on 1800 022 222) to exclude COVID-19 as well as to resolve any other health issues.

What are we doing at Panthea Clinics specifically?

At Panthea Clinics, we are abiding by the new restrictions put in place by the Federal Government. We have temporarily suspended all non-urgent elective surgeries. However, Dr Farhadieh still has many patients to assist in regards to melanomas and non-melanoma skin cancers such as basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). We are also keeping the clinic open to provide our world class services to patients with possible breast implant ruptures.

We have had many calls from patients who had booked their cosmetic appointments prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and were wondering whether their appointment would now be cancelled or rescheduled. To answer this question, we have NOT cancelled any of our scheduled appointments (whether cosmetic or to do with lesions and skin cancers). Dr Farhadieh will be going ahead with all appointments (if the patient feels comfortable coming into the clinic of course). The only change is that we will not be able to book in your procedure until further notice. However, we will not be booking ANY cosmetic appointments until further notice, unless you suspect a possible breast implant rupture or believe that you satisfy the urgent requirement.

We have also had many calls from many elderly patients who are conflicted as to whether they should reschedule or cancel their appointment, as the Government has advised that all people aged 70+ should stay home. Unfortunately, we cannot make this decision for you. We are taking all the necessary measures to prevent the widespread transmission of COVID-19, including spacing our reception chairs 1.5m apart and having hand sanitiser readily available. If you do not feel comfortable coming into the clinic, that is completely understandable and we will respect your decision.

If you have any additional questions regarding COVID-19 and what we are doing here at Panthea, please feel free to contact us. Our phone number is 1300 03 03 71 and our email is [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

How can you keep updated on the COVID-19 situation?

The Australian Government has created an application that you can download on your mobile device called “Coronavirus Australia”. It is extremely useful in terms of accessing advice and resources. It also has a symptom checker that asks you whether any of the emergency symptoms apply to you (such as breathlessness, paleness and drowsiness) and whether you have any of the coronavirus symptoms (such as a fever equal to or over 38 degrees celsius or an acute respirator infection). I highly recommend that you utilise this beneficial and helpful app.

Download the official government “Coronavirus Australia” app in the Apple App Store or Google Play, or join the Government’s WhatsApp channel on iOS or Android.