A Foot and Ankle Surgeon’s perspective:
Musculoskeletal health care providers excel in improving patient’s lives by improving function. Cortisone injections for arthritic joints so our grandmothers can enjoy church or get thru their shopping at the grocery store. Ligament reconstructions so our patients can enjoy their leisure and sporting activities. Reconstruction of joints to allow construction workers to return to the labor work force to build the infrastructure of our country.
In a matter of weeks, everything has been put to a halt. We are in an unprecedented time during which our focus is no longer on improving the quality of lives but rather maintaining life itself. Our healthcare resources have rightfully been diverted to the COVID-19 pandemic in a manner that has never been experienced in our generation. With our limited supplies of masks, gowns, gloves, and personal protective equipment, and even more critical, our limited supply of ventilators, our resources have been optimized for those in dire need. Even our outpatient ambulatory surgical centers, in which we use ventilators temporarily for anesthesia during surgery are now being reserved for potential transformational use for COVID-19 patients.
When will we able to help our patients again? When will we be again part of the healthcare community and do our part? As a musculoskeletal health care provider, we thrive on our ability to improve the function and lives our patients. Our greatest satisfaction is a satisfied patient. We will get there again. But when? Multiple models, but no answers yet. And to guess which model is accurate is just that… a guess.
“Flatten the curve.” We have heard it again and again. We don’t have a treatment (yet) and we do not have a vaccine (yet). Sometimes the best offense is a great defense. Until we are able to find a way to manage COVID-19, which we will absolutely accomplish, we must minimize our population causalities. With our remarkably skilled medical colleagues leading the charge, we have already made a great dent in the potential loss for our society. This is not a political issue. This is not an economy issue. This is a medical issue that requires our country and world to listen to our healthcare leaders and use mathematical analysis and facts to determine when we are able to balance risks with benefits of restarting our elective practices. And when the time comes, we will do just that with safety for all.
Until then, the musculoskeletal healthcare providers will be here waiting. We are here to address urgent and emergent issues such as fractures, tendon ruptures, and other injuries that without appropriate urgent treatment would alter the long-term quality of life for our patients. We also can “buy time” with braces, outpatient office procedures, injections, and telemedicine consults to guide our patients for optimal care.
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