Plastic and Hand Surgery Operating Room Waste Reduction

Background: Combined, Operating Rooms (ORs) and labor and delivery suites account for over 70% of hospital trash. Recycling has been shown to have a significant financial impact on a hospital-wide basis in previous research, but its importance in the OR has yet to be proven. Objective: To provide a strategy for lowering costs in plastic and hand surgery through judicious selection of tools and supplies, as well as the implementation of recycling. Methods: The authors identified disposable supplies and devices that are commonly opened and wasted in typical plastic and hand surgery procedures, as well as the cost reductions that can be realised by removing these items. The cost of (OR) Operating Rooms trash versus single-stream recycling, as well as the value of recycling HIPAA documents and blue wrap, were evaluated in a cost analysis. Results: A total of fifteen items were removed from disposable plastic packs, and seven items were retrieved from hand bags. These modifications alone might save a total of US dollars 17,381.05 each year. The authors' school has saved an average of dollars 3,487 per month since implementing single-stream recycling on all three campuses. Extrapolating at the current savings rate, a minimum of US dollars 41,844 per year should be saved. Discussion: Operating rooms waste reduction is a cost-effective way to save money in the operating room. Hospitals can reduce the amount of opened and unused material by changing the composition of current disposable packs and instrument sets designated for plastic and hand surgery. Conclusion: This prudent supply and instrument selection, as well as the implementation of recycling, can result in significant cost savings and environmental advantages.