• Horacio J Asbun, Mohammad Abu Hilal, Filipe Kunzler, Domenech Asbun, Jaap Bonjer, Kevin Conlon, Nicolas Demartines, Liane S Feldman, Salvador Morales-Conde, Andrea Pietrabissa, Aurora D Pryor, Christopher M Schlachta, Patricia Sylla, Eduardo M Targarona, Yolanda Agra, Marc G Besselink, Mark Callery, Sean P Cleary, Luis De La Cruz, Philippe Eckert, Chad Evans, Ho-Seong Han, Daniel B Jones, Tong Joo Gan, Daniel Koch, Keith D Lillemoe, Davide Lomanto, Jeffrey Marks, Brent Matthews, John Mellinger, William Scott Melvin, Eduardo Moreno-Paquentin, Claudio Navarrete, Timothy M Pawlik, Patrick Pessaux, Walter Ricciardi, Steven Schwaitzberg, Paresh Shah, Joseph Szokol, Mark Talamini, Ricardo Torres, Alessandro Triboldi, Suthep Udomsawaengsup, Federica Valsecchi, Jean-Nicolas Vauthey, Michael Wallace, Steven D Wexner, Michael Zinner, and Nader Francis.
• Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Miami Cancer Institute, Miami, Florida.
• Ann. Surg. 2021 Jul 1; 274 (1): 505650-56.

ObjectiveThe aim of this work is to formulate recommendations based on global expert consensus to guide the surgical community on the safe resumption of surgical and endoscopic activities.BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused marked disruptions in the delivery of surgical care worldwide. A thoughtful, structured approach to resuming surgical services is necessary as the impact of COVID-19 becomes better controlled. The Coronavirus Global Surgical Collaborative sought to formulate, through rigorous scientific methodology, consensus-based recommendations in collaboration with a multidisciplinary group of international experts and policymakers.MethodsRecommendations were developed following a Delphi process. Domain topics were formulated and subsequently subdivided into questions pertinent to different aspects of surgical care in the COVID-19 crisis. Forty-four experts from 15 countries across 4 continents drafted statements based on the specific questions. Anonymous Delphi voting on the statements was performed in 2 rounds, as well as in a telepresence meeting.ResultsOne hundred statements were formulated across 10 domains. The statements addressed terminology, impact on procedural services, patient/staff safety, managing a backlog of surgeries, methods to restart and sustain surgical services, education, and research. Eighty-three of the statements were approved during the first round of Delphi voting, and 11 during the second round. A final telepresence meeting and discussion yielded acceptance of 5 other statements.ConclusionsThe Delphi process resulted in 99 recommendations. These consensus statements provide expert guidance, based on scientific methodology, for the safe resumption of surgical activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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