Streamlining surgical instruments sets for greener arthroplasty

Abstract

<p>Introduction: The healthcare sector accounts for a significant proportion of resource consumption in society. The operating theatre consumes a large proportion of this due to the vast amount of both human and material resources required to allow for safe and efficiency running of such services. Joint replacement procedures require a huge number of resources in the preparation and processing of reusable surgical instruments. In the current era of rapid climate change and global warming, creative and conscientious solutions are needed to allow for “greener” joint replacement.<br>Methods: An audit on the number of re-usable surgical instruments was carried out for 5 total and 5 unicompartmental knee replacements. All surgical instruments used in each procedure were recorded and the number of items unused was recorded and weighed. Calculations regarding the amount of material e.g., electricity and water and human resources were performed.<br>Results: 109 instruments were prepared for each knee replacement, however, only an average of 36 items were utilised in each operation. A streamlined knee replacement instrument set was designed which only contains 40 items and is 38% of the original weight of the original instrument sets (streamlined set: 5.9kg, original set: 15.2kg).<br>Conclusion: Significant amounts of surgical instruments were unused during a knee replacement procedure. Use of streamlined tailored sets for routine procedures such as knee replacement should be adopted to allow for efficient use of material and human resources.<br></p>