• Jun Jie Ng, Tiffany R X Gan, Jen Yong Niam, Raj K Menon, Pei Ho, Rajesh B Dharmaraj, Julian C L Wong, and Choong Andrew M T L AMTL Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surger.
• Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore; SingVaSC, Singapore Vascular Surgical Collaborative, Singapore. Electronic address: jun_jie_ng@nuhs.edu.sg.
• J. Vasc. Surg. 2020 Oct 1; 72 (4): 1166-1172.

AbstractSingapore was one of the first countries to be affected by COVID-19, with the index patient diagnosed on January 23, 2020. For 2 weeks in February, we had the highest number of COVID-19 cases behind China. In this article, we summarize the key national and institutional policies that were implemented in response to COVID-19. We also describe in detail, with relevant data, how our vascular surgery practice has changed because of these policies and COVID-19. We show that with a segregated team model, the vascular surgery unit can still function while reducing risk of cross-contamination. We explain the various strategies adopted to reduce outpatient and inpatient volume. We provide a detailed breakdown of the type of vascular surgical cases that were performed during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with preceding months. We discuss our operating room and personal protective equipment protocols in managing a COVID-19 patient and share how we continue surgical training amid the pandemic. We also discuss the challenges we might face in the future as COVID-19 regresses.Copyright © 2020 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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