Covid and operations

Hi I have tried to get a straight answer to this but failed. 

If I got Covid before my scheduled op for renal CA how long would it delay my operation 

Thanks 

Hi Scared 2023,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Helen and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists. Welcome to our online community, I hope you’ll find it a supportive environment.

I’m sorry you have struggled to find out how long your operation would be delayed by if you caught Covid.

The current NHS guidance states that if you have symptoms, or test positive for Covid, you should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days after the day you took your test if you are 18 years old or over.

You should also avoid meeting people who are more likely to get seriously ill from viruses, such as people with a weakened immune system, for 10 days after the day you took your test.

It is unlikely your operation would be rescheduled before those 10 days are over, due to the likelihood you will be an inpatient on wards that have people with a weakened immune system who are vulnerable to Covid also staying on them.

NHS England advises that all patients whose elective procedure requires at least an overnight stay need to perform a lateral flow test three days (72 hours) prior to their admittance to hospital.

If you need to go to critical care after your operation, you will need a PCR test (polymerase chain reaction test) before your operation. This should be arranged as part of the pre-operative assessment process.

Please note this is the current advice for England, If you live in another part of the UK, please find links to further guidance here.

This also doesn’t account for the rescheduling of the date of your surgery in line with the availability of theatre time and surgical team.

I hope this has been helpful.

Kind regards 

Helen K, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist.

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Our Ref:  HK/KG