The Environmental Impact Calculator for Minimally Invasive Surgery (EcoMIS): A Pilot study on Minimally Invasive Cholecystectomies
Project team
Olsztyn – Poland
Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Msida – Malta
Barcelona – Spain
Kingston Upon Thames – UK
Idea for the project
One of the greatest threats to public health in the 21st century is anthropogenic climate change. Healthcare services worldwide account for 4.9% of global Carbon Dioxide emission, which is higher than aviation or shipping. Operating rooms are among the most resource intensive areas of the hospital. The European Association of Endoscopic Surgeons (EAES) in collaboration with the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) have therefore identified the need to approach sustainability as an environmental, economic and ethical priority as highlighted by their White Paper on Green Surgery.
The aim of our study is to implement a validated, easily accessible, and user-friendly calculator tool to quantitatively analyse the annual carbon footprint for minimally invasive surgeries, irrespective of hospital volume, hospital income, or surgical specialty. This quantitative assessment could be used for, but not limited to, (inter)national benchmarking, research homogeneity, progress on sustainable changes, and hospital-specific, tailor-made advice on potential improvements.
This project starts with a pilot study, focused on minimally invasive cholecystectomy. Variables will be selected based on literature search and implemented into the calculator based on life-cycle analyses (method of analysing the carbon footprint) that have previously been performed for cholecystectomies. This will be carried out via a 4-step process. Step 1: The calculator will be developed based on extensive literature review, followed by step 2: Internal-validation within the individual hospitals of the EcoMIS team. Step 3: Performing a Delphi-study within the EAES network with the goal to refine and identify potential improvements. Step 4: Re-run the internal-validation and Delphi for optimization and finalisation of the calculator.
Experience of the sandpit day:
We are extremely grateful to be granted the opportunity to participate in the EAES Research Sandpit, foster new academic relationships, and to present our project proposal. The day provided us with a unique opportunity to learn from established surgical academics and members of the EAES Committees. The input from the mentors allowed us to develop an even better proposal for our study. We strongly encourage fellow surgical trainees and residents to take up this opportunity.
