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©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2023; 15(7): 1277-1285
Published online Jul 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i7.1277
Published online Jul 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i7.1277
Carbon footprints in minimally invasive surgery: Good patient outcomes, but costly for the environment
Kai Siang Chan, Hong Yee Lo, Vishal G Shelat, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 308433, Singapore
Vishal G Shelat, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, Singapore
Vishal G Shelat, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
Author contributions: Chan KS performed the literature review and wrote the manuscript; Lo HY supervised and revised the manuscript; Shelat VG conceptualized the idea, supervised and revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kai Siang Chan, MBBS, Doctor, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433, Singapore. kchan023@e.ntu.edu.sg
Received: December 27, 2022
Peer-review started: December 27, 2022
First decision: February 20, 2023
Revised: March 2, 2023
Accepted: April 18, 2023
Article in press: April 18, 2023
Published online: July 27, 2023
Peer-review started: December 27, 2022
First decision: February 20, 2023
Revised: March 2, 2023
Accepted: April 18, 2023
Article in press: April 18, 2023
Published online: July 27, 2023
Core Tip
Core Tip: Many minimally-invasive surgeries (MIS) have better post-operative outcomes than their open counterparts. However, MIS requires using carbon dioxide to achieve pneumoperitoneum, sterilization, and production and disposal of equipment. Concerns over the iatrogenic transmission of infectious diseases have led to the preference for disposable equipment; however, disposable equipment has higher carbon footprints than reusable ones. This review summarizes the impact of MIS on carbon footprints, awareness and attitudes of relevant stakeholders towards environmental sustainability, and challenges in reducing carbon footprint in MIS.