Effect Of Reusing the Operative Supplies On Cataract Surgery and Climate Change

Although postoperative infectious endophthalmitis and toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) rarely happen, they can threaten sight and are considered complications of intraocular and cataract surgery1.

Reusing surgical supplies during cataract surgery, especially in developing countries, will have a treble impact in lowering the financial costs of surgery, the emissions of greenhouse gas, and environmental waste. Nearly half the waste of cataract surgery is recyclable, as reported by a prospective Malaysian study 8.

Despite the increasing evidence of reusing the operative supplies, numerous healthcare professionals may be reluctant to consider it due to worries about cross-contamination among patients2.

According to the Aravind Eye Care System (AECS) in Tamil Nadu, India, endophthalmitis rated 0.02% in over a million consecutive cataract cases despite the observation that cannulas, irrigation/ aspiration tubing, gowns, surgical gloves, irrigating bottles, as well as topical and intraocular drugs are normally recycled to cut cost and waste3,4.

On the other hand, health care plays a key role in climate change, as well as financial and environmental waste2. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide, making cataract surgery one of the most performed surgical procedures5. The carbon footprint of cataract surgery, especially phacoemulsification, is a significant research field6-8.

In the United Kingdom, cataract surgery releases 180 kg of CO2- equivalents per eye, causing over half of the emissions due to obtaining large disposable medical equipment9. In ACES, phacoemulsification generated 5.9 kg of carbon emissions4.

In comparison to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, the cataract surgery's low rates of infection in AECS were accomplished with 1/10 supply costs and 1/20 global warming emissions6.

Being the most performed operation, cataract surgery and ophthalmology, in general, can meaningfully influence lowering environmental and economic waste in their surgical services1.

The aim of this work is to show if reusing the operative supplies to reduce financial costs, especially in developing countries, and to lower global warming and climate change will affect the rate of postoperative endophthalmitis after cataract surgery