Abstract

Purpose: To explore the carbon emissions linked to vitreoretinal (VR) surgery. Methods: Using innovative hybrid lifecycle analysis and input-output analysis, our study examined greenhouse gas emissions from VR surgery, comparing single-use of disposable instruments versus reuse in a tertiary care institute. Results: The emissions for a VR surgery is 1333 kgCO2 eq & 5049 kgCO2 eq for landfill &incineration disposal respectively. Reusing disposable instruments cut emissions to 780.6 kgCO2 eq (landfill) &2879.8 kgCO2 eq (incineration), marking >60% reduction. Considering the number of VR surgeries performed, this amounts to saving 442618 to 1641058 kgCO2eq annually. Conclusions: One VR surgery emits the same amount of carbon as a road trip from Amritsar to Kanyakumari. Reusing instruments for a year reduced emissions by 60% which is roughly equivalent to 17,789 saplings grown over 10 years.