DR. RAMYA R NADIG

DR. RAJIV RAMAN

Abstract

Introduction- Global warming is one of the greatest health threats of 21st century. There is currently no data on global emissions of fluorinated gases in ophthalmic surgery. This retrospective study from 2017 – 21 aims to report the CO2 equivalence of SF6, C2F6 and C3F8 at a tertiary eye centre.

Methods- Data collected from 1842 surgical procedures excluding silicon oil and air tamponade cases were analyzed. Environmental impact (Global Warming Potential over 100 years) was calculated by converting milliliters to grams using modified Ideal Gas Law at standard temperature and pressure for the canisters and then to their CO2 equivalence.

Results-Though 70% of surgeries used C3F8- the least greenhouse effect causing fluorinated gas, total carbon emission was 1.4 metric tons. The commonest indication was macular hole surgery (38%).

Conclusion- This study paves a step at analyzing the problem statement, thus awakening us to contemplate on options to make ophthalmic surgeries greener.

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