The Carbon Footprint of Cataract Surgery in a French University Hospital

In this article, Ferrero and colleagues have estimated the direct and indirect emissions of carbon footprint of a cataract procedure carried out in Cochin University Hospital in Paris, France. They utilized a standardized method of Economic input-output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) as a multicriteria tool to globally assess the environmental impact of their activity. The estimated carbon footprint of each procedure was 81.13kg of CO2eq (13.5 times of that calculated in India by Thiel et al.). Based on their practices, they have also suggested ways to reduce carbon emissions using the '5R strategy'.