Here at the Sudbury Plastic Surgery office there are several new measures in place given that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization and that COVID-19 is extremely contagious and is believed to spread by person-to-person contact; and, as a result, federal and provincial health agencies recommend social distancing.  

Dr. Fortin and all the staff at Sudbury Plastic Surgery and Health Sciences North are closely monitoring this situation and have put in place reasonable preventative measures aimed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. However, given the nature of the virus, there is an inherent risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 by virtue of proceeding with this elective treatment. By attending our office or the hospital for appointments and surgery all patients assume the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 through this elective treatment.

Even if you have been tested for COVID-19 and received a negative test result, the test in some cases may fail to detect the virus or you may have contracted COVID after the test. If a patient was to have COVID-19 infection, and even if they do not have any symptoms for the same, proceeding with any elective procedure can lead to a higher change of complication and death. 

Patients should understand that possible exposure to COVID-19 before/during/after a procedure may result in the following: a positive COVID-19 diagnosis , extended quarantine/self-isolation, additional tests, hospitalization that may require medical therapy, Intensive Care treatment, possible need for intubation/ventilator support, short-term or long-term intubation, other potential complications, and the risk of death. In addition, after my treatment, I may need additional care that may require me to go to an emergency room or a hospital. Additional risks, some, or many which may not currently be known at this time. 

As a precaution we ask that prior to surgery, all patients self-isolate  for 7-10 days to prevent exposure to COVID-19 prior to treatment/procedure/surgery date.   

You will been given the option to defer treatment to a later date should we contact you.  Please indicate that you wish to defer as soon as possible to avoid others losing access to care, given the very limited resources available during these stressful times.