Protecting our patients’ future through perioperative sustainability: Action and advocacy for the pediatric surgeon

In brief

This article examines how pediatric surgeons can integrate sustainability practices into perioperative care to protect children's long-term health. It addresses actionable strategies for reducing operating room environmental impact and advocates for systemic changes in surgical practice to mitigate climate-related health risks.

• Climate change directly threatens child health through heat illness, respiratory disease, and infectious disease spread.
• Operating rooms generate 20-30% of hospital waste; pediatric surgeons can reduce this through reusable instruments and waste segregation.
• Anesthetic gases like desflurane have high global warming potential; choosing sevoflurane or propofol reduces carbon footprint.
• Advocacy at institutional and policy levels amplifies individual sustainability efforts in pediatric surgical practice.
• Sustainable perioperative practices protect future generations while maintaining high-quality patient care today.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.