Sustainability Publications Digest: Carbon footprinting and sustainability impact assessment in urological surgical practice - A systematic review

MTRC shares the most relevant and impactful publications in the field of sustainability for medical technologies in Europe through its Sustainability Publications Digest. 

In the recent publication, “Carbon footprinting and sustainability impact assessment in urological surgical practice - A systematic review,” Wani et al. presented a systematic review to determine the carbon footprint (CFP) of urological surgical practice and identify opportunities for improving the environmental impact of urology surgical practice. Five articles were included in the review. 

Three studies compared single-use with reusable cystoscopes concluded that single-use cystoscopes are non-inferior to reusable cystoscopes environmentally due to the carbon footprint associated with decontamination and repackaging. Similarly, in a single study, the CFP of single-use and reusable ureteroscopes is comparable. Lastly, a single study concluded that robotics-assisted surgery in prostate cancer may be a better option than other approaches in terms of environmental sustainability. The authors noted a paucity of good-quality literature to guide urological surgical practice to reduce the CFP and improve sustainability.

Read the full article here.