Orthopedic & Muscular System: Current Research
Open Access

Abstract

To Fly or Not to Fly? – A Review of the Pertinent Literature

Siddharth Govilkar, Meeta Patel, Alex Bolt and Stuart Hay

Air travel is still the fastest growing mode of transportation with International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures expecting to surpass over a billion passengers annually. The safety of air travel following a surgical procedure is becoming an important issue with the increasing frequency of ambulatory surgery and increasing trauma workload. Serious consideration must be given to the optimal timing of a postoperative flight, the assessment of patient stability, and special medical needs. This paper summarises the current International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidance whilst highlighting the lack of substantive evidence in current literature.