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. 2024 Jan 13;16(1):e52195.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.52195. eCollection 2024 Jan.

Reducing Carbon Footprint of Disposable Pulse Lavage Systems in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Matthew Chan  1 , Jonathan Mutimer  1
Affiliations

Reducing Carbon Footprint of Disposable Pulse Lavage Systems in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Matthew Chan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Pulse lavage is recommended in all modern total joint arthroplasty operations in the UK. The common current pulse lavage is a disposable battery-operated system. AC and power tool powered models are commercially available in the UK. We performed a carbon emissions analysis of each model to evaluate the reduction in the carbon footprint of the arthroplasty operations at one trust and extrapolated the data to scale the possible economic and environmental benefits. Introducing a power tool driven pulse lavage system can reduce the carbon footprint of pulse lavage by 50% compared to the battery and AC-powered options. Additionally, we have reduced the economic impact of one trust by switching to a "greener" alternative pulse lavage system. In trusts where a power tool-driven pulse lavage is not possible, we advocate using AC-powered kits that are less wasteful than the more commonly used battery-powered options.

Keywords: carbon footprint; green surgery; healthcare sustainability; pulse lavage; total hip athroplasty; total knee arthroplasty (tka).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no affiliation to either De Soutter Medical or Zimmer Biomet. This project received no outside funding. Both De Soutter and Zimmer Biomet provided information on the raw materials and costings used in the products but had no role in the analysis or write up of the project. De Soutter provided Ecopulse® pulse lavage samples free of charge during the trial period.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Comparison of packaging of Ecopulse® and Pulsvac® sets
Ecopulse® (De Soutter Medical Ltd., Aylesbury, UK); Pulsvac® (Zimmer-Biomet, Warsaw, US).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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