Al Roker contracted COVID-19 last September, and since then has been in the hospital twice for blood clots. Fortunately, they didn't require surgery.

A new study in JAMA Network Open reveals that having any type of surgery up to 13 months after your COVID-19 infection puts you at a significant risk of post-op problems compared to people who haven't had the virus.

Previously, researchers thought that the window for COVID-19-related post-op difficulties closed at around three to six months; now it’s more than a year.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that if you have surgery in the first 30 days after having COVID-19, there is an 18% higher risk of deep venous thrombosis (a blood clot), pulmonary embolism (a clot in the lungs), cerebrovascular accident (a stroke in the brain), myocardial injury (heart attack or heart damage), acute kidney injury, and death.

By day 100 post-infection, the increased risks drop to 10% and then decrease to about 8% 400 days after COVID-19.

Clearly, if you have had COVID-19 and are scheduled for an operation afterward, you should discuss the post-op risks with your doctor. A truly elective procedure (such as cosmetic procedures) might be postponed. But if you choose to have it done, your doctor might consider having you adopt an aspirin regimen or another aggressive anti-coagulation plan.

For urgent cases of cancer, heart disease, or trauma, surgery may be required. Then, extra attention to your post-operative well-being and the use of an anti-coagulation regimen should be considered carefully.