The carbon footprint of cataract surgery in a French University Hospital

Summary Purpose To assess the carbon footprint of cataract surgery in a French university hospital. Setting Operating room of Cochin University Hospital, Paris, France. Design Single-center component analysis. Methods One day of surgery was used as a reference. Greenhouse gases (GHG) related to patient and staff transportation were calculated based on the distance travelled and the means of transportation used. The annual consumption of energy (heating and electricity) of our building was converted in kg equivalent of carbon dioxide (CO2eq), and the principle of proportionality was used to calculate what was used for a single cataract procedure. GHG emissions related to the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the equipment used and the sterilization process were calculated. Results The LCA of disposable items accounted for 59.49 kg (73.32%) of CO2eq for each procedure. A single procedure generated 2.83 ± 0.10 kg of waste. The average CO2eq produced by the transportation of the patients to and from our center, adjusted for one procedure, was 7.26 ± 6.90 kg (8.95%) of CO2eq. The CO2eq produced by the sterilization of the phacoemulsifier handpiece was 2.12 kg (2.61%). The energy consumption of the building and staff transportation accounted for the remaining CO2eq emissions, 0.76 kg (0.93%) and 0.08 kg (0.10%) respectively. Altogether, the carbon footprint of one cataract procedure in our center was 81.13 kg CO2eq – the equivalent of an average car driving 800 km. Conclusion Our data provide a basis to quantify cataract surgery as a source of GHG and suggests that reductions in emissions can be achieved.