Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Plast Surg 2022; 55(01): 045-053
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1735425
Original Article

The Impact of “COVID-19” and “Webinar Pandemic” on Plastic Surgery Practice in Teaching Institutes and Resident Training—A Multicentric Perspective

Satyaswarup Tripathy
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Devi Prasad Mohapatra 
2   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Ranjit Kumar Sahu
3   Department of Plastic Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India
,
Subair Mohsina 
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Ramesh Kumar Sharma
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Subhendu Khan
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Sharda Renu
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Chandra Kunwari Singh
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Suraj R. Nair
1   Department of Plastic Surgery, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
,
Shijina Koliath
2   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Imran Pathan
2   Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Introduction The study was carried out to quantify the changes induced by the pandemic in plastic surgery practice and training and to study the impact of the webinars on plastic surgery education from a residents’ perspective.

Methods In this multicentric study, the number and type of surgeries, cause of injuries, and their regional variation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period (February–September 2020) were compared with pre–COVID-19 time. An online survey on the impact of webinars was conducted for plastic surgery trainees across the country.

Results There was a significant reduction in total number of surgeries (p = 0.003). The procedures for hand (p = 0.156), faciomaxillary injuries (p = 0.25), and replantations (p = 0.46) were comparable; there was a significant reduction in combined orthopedic-plastic-surgical procedures (p = 0.009) during the pandemic. There was a significant reduction in road accidents (p = 0.007) and suicidal injuries (p = 0.002) and increase in assault (p = 0.03) and domestic accidents (p = 0.01) during the COVID-19 period.

A usefulness score of >8 was given for the webinars by 68.7% residents. There was no significant difference in perception of utility when correlated with the academic program at their institutes (p = 0.109); 92% opined webinars should continue in post-COVID times.

Conclusion There was a drastic reduction in number of elective and emergency procedures during the COVID-19 time, negatively affecting resident training program. Majority of residents felt that webinars could prove a useful adjunct to training in formal training program in post-COVID-19 scenario.

Keywords

hand trauma - faciomaxillary injury - malignancy reconstruction - aesthetic procedures - webinar - conferences

Financial Disclosures

None.


All the study procedures are conforming to the Declaration of Helsinki.


Author Contributions

Dr. Satyaswarup Tripathy, Dr. Devi Prasad Mohapatra, and Dr. Mohsina Subair were involved in the study design, data collection and interpretation, and writing of the manuscript. Dr. Ranjit Kumar Sahu and Dr. Ramesh Kumar Sharma were involved in writing of the manuscript and critically assessed the manuscript for intellectual content. Dr. Subhendu Khan, Dr. Sharda Renu, Dr. Chandra Kunwari Singh, Dr. Suraj. R. Nair, Dr. Shijina Koliath, and Dr. Imran Pathan were involved in data collection and analysis and writing of the manuscript.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 31 October 2020

Accepted: 22 May 2021

Article published online:
09 February 2022

© 2022. Association of Plastic Surgeons of India. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India

 

  • References

  • 1 WHO. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19—11-march-2020 . Published March 11, 2020. Accessed June 2, 2020
    Google Scholar
  • 2 The Lancet. India under COVID-19 lockdown. Lancet Lond Engl 2020; 395 (10233) 1315
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 MOHFW. Advisory for hospitals and medical education institutions. https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/AdvisoryforHospitalsandMedicalInstitutions.pdf . Accessed October 1, 2020
    Google Scholar
  • 4 Patel NG, Reissis D, Mair M. et al. ReconSurg Collaborative. Safety of major reconstructive surgery during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and Ireland—multicentre national cohort study. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2020.12.032.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/framework-non-COVID-care.html . Accessed October 1, 2020
    Google Scholar
  • 6 Sarac BA, Schoenbrunner AR, Wilson SC, Chiu ES, Janis JE. The impact of COVID-19-based suspension of surgeries on plastic surgery practices: a survey of ACAPS members. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2020; 8 (08) e3119
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Zingaretti N, Contessi Negrini F, Tel A, Tresoldi MM, Bresadola V, Parodi PC. The impact of COVID-19 on plastic surgery residency training. Aesthetic Plast Surg 2020; 44 (04) 1381-1385
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Navia A, Berner JE, Pereira N, Reissis D, Rakhorst H, Cuadra A. Have we passed the peak? The COVID-19 plastic surgery webinar pandemic. Aesthet Surg J 2020; 40 (09) NP569-NP573
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Kapadia A, Nair M, Salvi V. Selecting and making the most of online webinars in plastic surgery: a new initiative. Indian J Plast Surg 2020; 53 (02) 293-297
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Kadam D. Pandemic pause: a mixed blessing. Indian J Plast Surg 2020; 53 (02) 169-170
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Ali SR, Dobbs TD, Whitaker IS. Webinars in plastic and reconstructive surgery training—a review of the current landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2020; 73 (07) 1357-1404
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Martin-Smith JD, McArdle A, Carroll SM, Kelly EJ. Webinar: a useful tool in plastic surgery specialty trainee education. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2015; 68 (09) 1323-1324
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Brito BL, Isaac C, Neves DP, Giavina-Bianchi P. COVID-19: how to proceed with the practice of plastic surgery in Brazil. What do we know right now?. Rev Bras Cir Plast 2020; 3 (02) 1-17
    Google Scholar
  • 14 Pagotto VPF, Abbas L, Goldenberg DC. et al. The impact of COVID-19 on the plastic surgery activity in a high-complexity university hospital in Brazil: the importance of reconstructive plastic surgery during the pandemic. Eur J Plast Surg 2020(e-pub ahead of print). doi:/s00238-020-01729-6
    Google Scholar
  • 15 Pignatti M, Pinto V, Miralles MEL, Giorgini FA, Cannamela G, Cipriani R. How the COVID-19 pandemic changed the plastic surgery activity in a regional referral center in Northern Italy. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2020; 73 (07) 1348-1356
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Agarwal R, Singhal M, Shankhdhar VK. et al. Plastic surgery practices amidst global COVID-19 pandemic: Indian consensus. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2021; 74 (01) 203-210
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Rajkumar RP. COVID-19 and mental health: a review of the existing literature. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 52: 102066 . doi/j.ajp.2020.102066
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Tandon R. The COVID-19 pandemic, personal reflections on editorial responsibility. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 50: 102100
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Armstrong A, Jeevaratnam J, Murphy G. et al. A plastic surgery service response to COVID-19 in one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2020; 73 (06) 1174-1205
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Reed AJM, Chan JKK. Plastic surgery training during COVID-19: challenges and novel learning opportunities. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2021; 74 (02) 407-447
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Kumar S, More A, Harikar M. Dharini 1. The impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on plastic surgery training and practice in India. Indian J Plast Surg 2020; 53 (02) 273-279
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar