Green Hysteroscopy

Climate change will affect global health, with a disproportionate effect on women. To continue advocating for the patient population, it is necessary to decrease the carbon footprint of the medical field. The healthcare industry is responsible for many carbon emissions and waste generation. In a hospital, the operating room contributes 20-30% and uses 3-6 times more energy per square foot. There are growing attempts at "green" strategies to minimize the carbon footprint of surgery. Parts of this strategy include decreasing the amount of single-use supplies. From its production, transport, use, and disposal life cycle, single-use supplies contribute to a large amount to waste.

Hysteroscopies are a very common procedure with over 200,00 performed per year. hysteroscopy involves placing a camera into the uterus via the vagina and cervix. This can be performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic indications. Hysteroscopies have been classically performed in the operating room. In the operating room, there is an emphasis on maintaining the sterile field. The patient is prepped and draped, resulting in a large amount of excess drape usage. However, in-office hysteroscopies are gaining in popularity. In the office, draping is limited to the under buttock to capture the efflux. Institutions such as Newton Wellesley Hospital and Medstar Hospital systems all utilize minimal draping in the in-office setting.

There is no further sterile draping. There is not an increased risk of infections from in-office hysteroscopies. Overall, the rate of infections from hysteroscopy is very low ranging from 0.06- 0.18%. A study has shown that the usage of preoperative iodine in hysteroscopic in-office procedures does not decrease the postoperative infection rate. New studies focused on a minimal drape cystoscopy have also not shown any increase in infection rate.

The investigator and the team hypothesize that green draping for a hysteroscopy can decrease the operative time of a procedure without causing increased complications. This will also add to the procedure's decreased cost and carbon footprint.