Climate Change and General Surgery: A Scoping Review of Impacts on Surgical Practice

By
Kimberly P. Woo
Ali Alipouriani
Jenny H. Chang
William C. Bennett
Abby Gross
Divya Deverakonda
Nikhila Yerabandi
Mary Schleicher
Alberto Arezzo
Marina Yiasemidou
Maggie Hodges
Vittoria Bellato
Myrthe M. M. Eussen
Patricia Sylla
Shaneeta M. Johnson
Ilyssa O. Gordon
Sofya Asfaw
Benjamin T. Miller
October 16, 2026

Surgical Endoscopy

Overview

This scoping review aims to map literature on climate change and general surgery, identify knowledge gaps, and establish research priorities. The supplied article excerpt describes the rationale and search methods but does not provide screening results or review findings, so the evidence identified and its conclusions cannot be summarized.

Background

Climate change is associated with health effects that may influence surgical disease, complications, and access to care. At the same time, healthcare contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions, and surgical care is particularly resource- and energy-intensive. The article estimates that operating rooms can use up to six times the energy per square foot of other hospital areas and generate approximately one-third of hospital waste. General surgery represents an estimated 15–27% of surgical operations worldwide, yet the authors state that no prior synthesis has specifically addressed climate-related effects in this specialty.

Data Highlights

Measure	Reported estimate	Source context
US healthcare share of greenhouse gas emissions	Approximately 8.5%	Article background
Operating-room energy use per square foot	Up to six times that of other hospital areas	Article background
Hospital supplies used by operating rooms	More than half	Article background
Hospital waste generated by operating rooms	Approximately one-third	Article background
Annual emissions attributed to surgery	9.7 million tons CO2e across the US, UK, and Canada	Article background
Share of worldwide surgical operations represented by general surgery	Estimated 15–27%	Article background
Database search date	August 29, 2025	Four databases; no filters or limiters applied

Key Findings

The review was designed to identify, organize, and summarize publications addressing climate change and general surgery, and to map knowledge gaps and research priorities.
The search followed PRISMA-ScR and covered Ovid Medline ALL, Ovid Embase, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and Cochrane through Wiley on August 29, 2025.
The search used broad climate-related terms, including temperature change, global warming, and extreme weather events; air pollution and earthquakes were excluded.
Operating rooms are described as major consumers of hospital energy and supplies and as substantial contributors to hospital waste.
The article identifies possible pathways linking climate change with surgical practice, including changes in trauma or burn injuries and postoperative cardiovascular or pulmonary complications; these are presented as potential mechanisms, not review results.
Related sustainability articles describe initiatives and research concerning greener operating rooms, reusable surgical items, and environmental impacts of surgical practice, but the supplied material does not report findings from the scoping review itself.

Clinical Implications

The supplied excerpt establishes the relevance of climate-related exposures and the environmental footprint of surgical care but does not report evidence sufficient to support specific clinical practice changes. The authors frame the review as an initial effort to characterize general-surgery-specific literature and guide subsequent research across surgical disciplines.

Conclusion

The article presents a rationale and systematic search approach for mapping the intersection of climate change and general surgery. Because the provided material ends before the review results, its evidence base, identified gaps, and final conclusions are not available here.