Posters

Carbon footprint of cataract surgery: are we missing a wake-up call?

Poster Details

First Author: M.Uddaraju INDIA

Co Author(s):                        

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To evaluate the annual carbon footprint of cataract surgeries carried out in a tertiary eye care centre and understand its implications on environmental sustainability.

Setting:

Retrospective analysis at a tertiary eye care centre.

Methods:

Retrospective observational study of 10,342 cataract surgeries performed in a calendar year and the associated waste produced by them and converting the same into CO2 equivalents to see the impact of it on our environment. CO2 Eq were calculated with online calculator and compared with other similar studies.

Results:

Each case of phaco generated an average waste of 375 grams resulting in 9kg CO2 Eq and each SICS generated a waste of 150 grams resulting in 3.2kg CO2 Eq. The cumulative effect of these surgeries totally was 2.24 tonnes resulting in 55.3 tonne CO2 Eq in a single year. 3854 Phaco = 34.6 tonnes of co2 eq 6488 SICS = 20.7 Tonnes of CO2. The carbon footprint for each phaco cataract surgery was 2.5 times more than MSICS.

Conclusions:

Cataract surgery being the most commonly performed surgical procedure, we need to be aware of its environmental implications and sustainability. In order to leave a greener world for a better tomorrow we need to adopt a balanced approach of reducing the use of disposables wherever feasible without compromising on the sterility principles.

Financial Disclosure:

None