Are we ready for "green surgery" to promote environmental sustainability in the operating room? Results from the WSES STAR investigation

Francesca Dal Mas^#^{1

2}, Lorenzo Cobianchi^#^{3

4}, Daniele Piccolo^#^{5

6}, Jeremy Balch⁷, Helena Biancuzzi⁸, Walter L Biffl⁹, Stefano Campostrini⁸, Enrico Cicuttin¹⁰, Federico Coccolini¹¹, Dimitris Damaskos¹², Amanda C Filiberto⁷, Claudia Filisetti¹³, Gustavo Fraga¹⁴, Simone Frassini^{5

10}, Paola Fugazzola^{5

10}, Timothy Hardcastle^{15

16}, Haytham M Kaafarani^{17

18}, Yoran Kluger¹⁹, Maurizio Massaro², Jacopo Martellucci²⁰, Ernest Moore²¹, Federico Ruta²², Massimo Sartelli²³, Philip F Stahel²⁴, George Velmahos^{17

18}, Dieter G Weber²⁵, Fausto Catena^#²⁶, Tyler J Loftus^#⁷, Luca Ansaloni^#^{5

10}; the STAR Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Collegium Medicum, University of Social Sciences, Łodz, Poland.
² Department of Management, Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy.
³ Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy. lorenzo.cobianchi@unipv.it.
⁴ General Surgery, Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy. lorenzo.cobianchi@unipv.it.
⁵ Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy.
⁶ Unit of Neurosurgery, Department of Head-Neck and Neuroscience, ASUFC Santa Maria Della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.
⁷ Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health, Gainesville, FL, USA.
⁸ Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy.
⁹ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, USA.
¹⁰ General Surgery, Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
¹¹ General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Dept, Pisa University Hospital Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹² General and Emergency Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
¹³ Department of Pediatric Surgery, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy.
¹⁴ Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
¹⁵ Department of Surgical Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa.
¹⁶ Trauma and Burns Services, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Mayville, 4058, South Africa.
¹⁷ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁹ Division of General Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
²⁰ Department of Surgery, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
²¹ Ernest E Moore Shock Trauma Center at Denver Health, Denver, CO, USA.
²² General Direction, ASL BAT (Health Agency), Andria, Italy.
²³ Department of Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy.
²⁴ Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
²⁵ Department of General Surgery, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
²⁶ Acute Care Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery and Trauma, Maurizio Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38267949
PMCID: PMC10809586
DOI: 10.1186/s13017-024-00533-y

Are we ready for "green surgery" to promote environmental sustainability in the operating room? Results from the WSES STAR investigation

Francesca Dal Mas et al. World J Emerg Surg. 2024.

. 2024 Jan 24;19(1):5.

doi: 10.1186/s13017-024-00533-y.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Collegium Medicum, University of Social Sciences, Łodz, Poland.
² Department of Management, Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy.
³ Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy. lorenzo.cobianchi@unipv.it.
⁴ General Surgery, Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy. lorenzo.cobianchi@unipv.it.
⁵ Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy.
⁶ Unit of Neurosurgery, Department of Head-Neck and Neuroscience, ASUFC Santa Maria Della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.
⁷ Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health, Gainesville, FL, USA.
⁸ Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy.
⁹ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, USA.
¹⁰ General Surgery, Department, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
¹¹ General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Dept, Pisa University Hospital Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
¹² General and Emergency Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
¹³ Department of Pediatric Surgery, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy.
¹⁴ Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
¹⁵ Department of Surgical Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001, South Africa.
¹⁶ Trauma and Burns Services, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Mayville, 4058, South Africa.
¹⁷ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁹ Division of General Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
²⁰ Department of Surgery, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
²¹ Ernest E Moore Shock Trauma Center at Denver Health, Denver, CO, USA.
²² General Direction, ASL BAT (Health Agency), Andria, Italy.
²³ Department of Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy.
²⁴ Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
²⁵ Department of General Surgery, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
²⁶ Acute Care Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery and Trauma, Maurizio Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38267949
PMCID: PMC10809586
DOI: 10.1186/s13017-024-00533-y

Abstract

Background: The importance of environmental sustainability is acknowledged in all sectors, including healthcare. To meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda, healthcare will need a paradigm shift toward more environmentally sustainable practices that will also impact clinical decision-making. The study investigates trauma and emergency surgeons' perception, acceptance, and employment of environmentally friendly habits.

Methods: An online survey based on the most recent literature regarding environmental sustainability in healthcare and surgery was created by a multidisciplinary committee and endorsed by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES). The survey was advertised to the 917 WSES members through the society's website and Twitter/X profile.

Results: 450 surgeons from 55 countries participated in the survey. Results underline both a generally positive attitude toward environmental sustainability but also a lack of knowledge about several concepts and practices, especially concerning the potential contribution to patient care.

Discussion: The topic of environmental sustainability in healthcare and surgery is still in its infancy. There is a clear lack of salient guidance and knowledge, and there is a critical need for governments, institutions, health agencies, and scientific societies to promote, disseminate, and report environmentally friendly initiatives and their potential impacts while employing an interdisciplinary approach.

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Sustainability; Trauma and emergency surgery; survey; Green.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this article.

References

1. Clarke T, Clegg S. Management paradigms for the new millennium. Int J Manag Rev [Internet]. 2000;2(1):45–64. doi: 10.1111/1468-2370.00030. - DOI
1. United Nations. SDG Compass - The guide for business action on the SDGs. 2015.
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1. Torain MJ, Maragh-Bass AC, Dankwa-Mullen I, Hisam B, Kodadek LM, Lilley EJ, et al. Surgical disparities: a comprehensive review and new conceptual framework. J Am Coll Surg [Internet]. 2016;223(2):408–418. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2016.04.047. - DOI - PubMed

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Are we ready for "green surgery" to promote environmental sustainability in the operating room? Results from the WSES STAR investigation

Affiliations

Are we ready for "green surgery" to promote environmental sustainability in the operating room? Results from the WSES STAR investigation

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources