AO CMF International Task Force Recommendations on Best Practices for Maxillofacial Procedures During COVID-19 Pandemic

Michael Grant; Daniel Buchbinder; Thomas B Dodson; Stefano Fusetti; Mike Yiu Yan Leung; Gregorio Sánchez Aniceto; Alexander Schramm; Edward Bradley Strong; Eppo Wolvius

doi:10.1177/1943387520948826

AO CMF International Task Force Recommendations on Best Practices for Maxillofacial Procedures During COVID-19 Pandemic

Craniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstr. 2020 Sep;13(3):151-156. doi: 10.1177/1943387520948826. Epub 2020 Sep 27.

Authors

Michael Grant¹, Daniel Buchbinder², Thomas B Dodson³, Stefano Fusetti⁴, Mike Yiu Yan Leung⁵, Gregorio Sánchez Aniceto⁶, Alexander Schramm⁷, Edward Bradley Strong⁸, Eppo Wolvius⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Maxillofacial Surgery, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, USA.
³ University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ University of Padova Medical School, Padova, Italy.
⁵ The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
⁶ University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.
⁷ University and Military Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
⁸ University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global problem that has adversely and significantly impacted the safe practice of maxillofacial surgery. The risk lies in the heavy viral load in the oral/nasal/upper respiratory mucosal surfaces. Surgical procedures performed in this anatomic regional produce aerosalized viral particles which are highly infectious. Best practices and recommendations are outlined to mitigate the risk to the provider.

Keywords: PPE; SARS-CoV-2; aerosol generating procedures; maxillofacial.