The carbon footprint of cataract surgery in a French University Hospital.

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 (COeq), 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 59.49kg (73.32%) of COeq for each procedure. A single procedure generated 2.83±0.10kg of waste. The average COeq produced by the transportation of the patients to and from our center, adjusted for one procedure, was 7.26±6.90kg (8.95%) of COeq. The COeq produced by the sterilization of the phacoemulsifier handpiece was 2.12kg (2.61%). The energy consumption of the building and staff transportation accounted for the remaining COeq emissions, 0.76kg (0.93%) and 0.08kg (0.10%) respectively. Altogether, the carbon footprint of one cataract procedure in our center was 81.13kg COeq - the equivalent of an average car driving 800km.

Conclusion: Our data provide a basis to quantify cataract surgery as a source of GHG and suggests that reductions in emissions can be achieved.