Abstract
Yesterday, after finishing a routine thoracic operation, I looked in dismay at the three large (30 gallon size) plastic bags filled with refuse generated during the three-hour procedure. What was inside those bags? Disposable paper items: surgical gowns, surgical drapes, envelopes, bags of all sizes. Sponges, small and large. Disposable plastic items: syringes, pumps, boxes of various sizes, tubing, bottles, bags, staplers, suction fluid containers, esophageal temperature probes. Disposable metal items: needles, staples, cartridges, scalpels, electrical cautery tips and wiring, scissors, electrocardiogram pads and wiring. Disposable rubber items: gloves, bottle stoppers, tubing, urinary catheters. In addition, a large variety of other disposable items, too many to mention, are thrown away as garbage. This deluge of disposable equipment is quite new. Fifteen to 20 years ago, very little disposable equipment was used, and I am not wrong in saying that this same operation, at that time, would not have generated more than a handful of refuse.
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