MSPS Letter to Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Polito and Secretary Sudders regarding reopening of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
June 1, 2020
Dear Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Polito and Secretary Sudders:
I am writing you in my capacity as the President of the Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons. As plastic surgeons we provide care for patients across a broad spectrum of disease and diagnoses, including complicated reconstructive procedures following trauma or oncologic surgeries, less urgent but medically necessary procedures such as breast reductions and carpal tunnel releases, as well as purely elective cosmetic surgeries and office procedures. First of all, thank you for all you have done and continue to do to protect our state during this crisis. We applaud and support your cautious and staged approach at reopening, and we support the restriction in Phase I to surgical services of an emergent or urgent nature only, including high priority preventative care. I am reaching out to call your attention to an issue that may impact several of our members in the Commonwealth during the next phase of reopening in the COVID 19 pandemic.
Many plastic surgeons who practice in the community have raised the concern that Phase II of the reopening plan may inadvertently overlook and thereby prohibit some of the services offered by their practices. Specifically, at the transition to Phase II, these doctors seek to resume not only medically necessary procedures of a less urgent, more elective nature but also certain in-office procedures such as lasers or minor surgeries provided that they do not place an undue burden upon the existing health care resources. These types of procedures align with and sometimes even overlap with the services being offered by the re-opening of nail salons and day spas outlined in Phase II. The medical expertise of physicians and nurses in these offices in regard to the prevention of disease transmission and the appropriate use of PPE will act as an additional safeguard against further spread of COVID 19 in the community should you permit this to resume in Phase II. Like many other small business owners, they and their office staff of nurses and assistants have been impacted greatly by the current DPH restrictions. These businesses are facing similar hardships to others around the state and are anxious to begin the process of rebuilding their practices at the earliest possible time in accordance with the best practices to ensure the safety of their patients and their staff. Allowing outpatient office-based procedures such as Botox or filler injections or simple minor surgical procedures which are very unlikely to have any significant impact on hospital resources would enable these practitioners to provide services safely, to employ others in the Commonwealth, and align well with the state’s well thought out re-opening plan. Thank you for your consideration in this matter and for your leadership in this public health crisis.
Sincerely,
Jonathan M. Winograd, MD FACS
President, Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons
Lifei Guo, MD
Secretary, Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons
Simon G. Talbot, MD
Treasurer, Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons
Matthias B. Donelan, MD
Massachusetts Society of Plastic Surgeons