Waste production from phacoemulsification surgery

PURPOSE: To determine the amount of waste produced from phacoemulsification surgeries and ways to curtail the problem.

SETTING: Miri Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia.

DESIGN: Prospective study.

METHODS: Phacoemulsification surgery cases were included in this study; nonphacoemulsification surgeries were excluded. The waste was subdivided into 3 main categories, general waste, clinical waste, and sharps. The waste produced by ophthalmologists and trainees was accounted for separately. The mean weight of waste per case was obtained by dividing the total weight of waste produced with the total number of cases.

RESULTS: The total waste produced from a total of 203 cases of phacoemulsification surgeries was 167.965 kg, of which, 95.063 kg (56.6%) were clinical waste, 63.197 kg (37.6%) were general waste, and 9.705 kg (5.8%) were sharps; 32.193 kg (50.9%) out of the general waste pool were recyclable waste products. The mean waste production per case of phacoemulsification surgery for an ophthalmologist was 0.814 kg, 1.086 kg per case for a trainee. A case of phacoemulsification surgery would produce 0.282 kg of carbon dioxide equivalents in the setup based on the recyclable general waste.

CONCLUSIONS: The average waste produced per case of phacoemulsification surgery in Miri Hospital was 0.827 kg. After excluding the recyclable material, the average waste produced per case was 0.669 kg. Following the 3 R's principles (reduce, reuse, and recycle) in the handling of waste production might reduce environmental impact.