Recommandations of the Tunisian Association of Surgery for the practice of visceral surgery during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared on March 11, 2020 that the COVID-19 epidemic has become a pandemic. In Tunisia, the Ministry of Health has recommended enhanced preventive hygiene measures to contain and limit the spread of the virus.
Following the entry of Tunisia into phase 4 of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Tunisian Association of Surgery proposed recommendations related to surgical activity. Surgical emergencies must be treated urgently and without delay. Non-tumor pathologies which require surgery in an elective situation and for which the risk of aggravation or complication is considered low shoud be postponed. For digestive tumor pathology, and apart from complicated forms, neoadjuvant treatment is highly recommended in the context of multidisciplinary concertation staff.