The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on elective post-bariatric surgery waiting list: a single Plastic Surgery Center investigation.

OBJECTIVE: After massive weight loss, patients that meet specific criteria can be inserted in an ad-hoc post-bariatric surgery list in order to be subjected to body contouring procedures. During COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian National Health System has been overwhelmed by the continue load of life-threatening patients that needed medical assistance. Plastic surgery practice enormously scaled back during this period and this fact greatly affected elective procedures waiting lists. The aim of our study is to analyze how the lockdown and its related sanitary policies affected post-bariatric patients' behaviors towards the delay of their procedure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 7-item questionnaire was administered to all patients. Change in the desire to be subjected to body contouring procedures was recorded. Smoking status, level of training during quarantine and psychological co-morbidities were also evaluated. RESULTS: 124 patients completed the questionnaire. Data analysis showed that none of them encountered a decrease of the desire to be subjected to post-bariatric plastic surgery procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that all the patients in the waiting list did not modify their interest in being subjected to post-bariatric surgery procedures, even though the waiting time increased.

Breast surgeons updating on the thresholds of COVID-19 era: results of a multicenter collaborative study evaluating the role of online videos and multimedia sources on breast surgeons education and training.

OBJECTIVE: Current trends show a rise of attention given to breast cancer patients' quality of life and the surgical reconstructive result. Along with this trend, surgical training quality and efficacy are gaining importance and innovative training methods such as online videos shared on social media portals, are becoming main updating tools. In hazardous times like COVID-19 pandemic nowadays, online communication becomes of vital importance and adaptation and innovation are fundamental to keep research and education alive. The authors aimed to investigate the role of video and multimedia sources on the daily activity and surgical training of a representative group of surgeons specifically dedicated to oncologic, oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgeries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was produced and administered to 20 major Italian Breast Centers. Collected data were analyzed with Fisher's Exact Test. RESULTS: From October 2019 to March 2020, a total of 320 surveys were collected. Among the responders, there were 188 trainees (intern medical doctors and residents) and 110 faculty, 72% of them belonged to a plastic surgery environment, while 28% to general surgery environment. Almost all respondents have ever watched videos concerning breast surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study show how breast surgeons rely on videos and web platforms, mostly YouTube, when searching for training info about surgical procedures. Social media offer great opportunities for sharing knowledge and diffusion of new ideas but greater attention to their reliability is mandatory.