Environmental Impact of Ophthalmology and Related Action Plan: Sustainability Inside and Outside of the Operating Room

Authors

  • Xavier Campos-Möller, MD Western Memorial Regional Hospital, Corner Brook, NL

Abstract

Climate change, global warming, or “global weirding” as some experts call it, is now undeniable. Extreme weather events such as flash floods, fires and hurricanes are increasing in both frequency and intensity. These changes are directly influenced by a changing climate as a by-product of greenhouse gas emissions, principally but not exclusively carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

Author Biography

Xavier Campos-Möller, MD, Western Memorial Regional Hospital, Corner Brook, NL

Dr. Xavier Campos-Möller is head of the Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery division of the Department of Ophthalmology at Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, since 2016. Dr. Campos-Moller is a graduate of the Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery fellowship with Dr. Ike Ahmed at the University of Toronto. He currently runs a practice in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, focusing mostly on cataract, complex anterior segment, and glaucoma surgery. Dr. Campos-Moller is councilor for the Canadian Glaucoma Society and an active member of the Canadian, American and Mexican Ophthalmological Societies as well as the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. He has lectured in multiple countries, published over 20 scientific papers in the fields of cataract, anterior segment surgery and glaucoma, and also recently published a best-selling book: Illustrated Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery. He is committed to the eradication of blindness and frequently travels overseas for humanitarian surgery missions, having performed thousands of surgeries for those in need. He is currently the president of SeeLevel, an organization committed to providing ophthalmic surgery to those that need it most. 

References

Thunberg G, Hayhoe K. The Climate Book. New York: Penguin Press; 2023. pp. 48–52.

Cheng L et al. Another year of record heat for the oceans. Adv Atmos Sci. 2023;40(June):963-74.

Hartinger SM, et al. The 2022 South America report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: trust the science. Now that we know, we must act. Lancet Regional Health - Americas [Internet]. 2023;20:100470. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2023.100470

Ellen MacArthur Foundation and World Economic Forum. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 2016;(January):120.

Smith M, et al. Microplastics in seafood and the implications for human health. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2018;5(3):375–86.

Bhuyan MS. Effects of microplastics on fish and in human health. Front Environ Sci. 2022;10(March):1–17.

Lelieveld J, et al. Effects of fossil fuel and total anthropogenic emission removal on public health and climate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2019;116(15):7192–7.

Hobbhahn N, et al. Urgent action is needed to protect human health from the increasing effects of climate change. Lancet Planet Health. 2019;3(8):e333–5.

Wisconsin H, et al. Florida Department of Health/Oregon Health Authority and Southeast Community of Practice. 2017. Climate and Health Intervention Assessment: Evidence on Public Health Interventions to Prevent the Negative Health Effects of Climate Change. Climate and Health Technical Report Series Climate and Health Program.

Istre-Wilz H, et al. Ocular Manifestations of Climate Change [Internet]. Available from: https://eyewiki.org/Ocular_Manifestations_of_Climate_Change

Eckelman MJ, et al. Environmental impacts of the US health care system and effects on public health. PloS one. 2016 Jun 9;11(6):e0157014.

Eckelman MJ, et al. Life cycle environmental emissions and health damages from the Canadian healthcare system: An economic-environmental-epidemiological analysis. PLoS Med. 2018;15(7):1-16.

Morris DS, et al. The carbon footprint of cataract surgery. Eye. 2013 Apr;27(4):495-501.

Haripriya A, et al. Endophthalmitis reduction with intracameral moxifloxacin in eyes with and without surgical complications: Results from 2 million consecutive cataract surgeries. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2019 Sep 1;45(9):1226-33. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrs.2019.04.018

Thiel CL, et al. Cataract surgery and environmental sustainability: waste and lifecycle assessment of phacoemulsification at a private healthcare facility. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2017 Nov 1;43(11):1391-8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrs.2017.08.017

Hermer LD, et al. Defensive medicine, cost containment, and reform. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(5):470–3.

Williams RD, et al. Of eminence-based and evidence-based medicine. EyeNet. 2018;9:12.

Chang DF, et al. Survey of cataract surgeons’ and nurses’ attitudes toward operating room waste. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2020 Jul 1;46(7):933-40.

Tsaousis KT, et al. Comparison of different types of phacoemulsification tips. III. Morphological changes induced after multiple uses in an ex vivo model. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2018 Jan 1;44(1):91-7.

Haripriya A, et al. Changing operating room practices: the effect on postoperative endophthalmitis rates following cataract surgery. British Journal of Ophthalmology. 2023 Jun 1;107(6):780-5.

Zotova O, et al. Carbon-neutral medical conferences should be the norm. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2020 Feb 1;4(2):e48-50.

Downloads

Published

2023-10-23

How to Cite

1.
Campos-Möller X. Environmental Impact of Ophthalmology and Related Action Plan: Sustainability Inside and Outside of the Operating Room. Can Eye Care Today [Internet]. 2023 Oct. 23 [cited 2024 Dec. 22];2(3):21–25. Available from: https://canadianeyecaretoday.com/article/view/2-3-campos-miller

Issue

Volume 2, Issue 3, October 2023

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Canadian Eye Care Today

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.