The ASGBI Congress 2023 – Sustainable Surgery in the Age of Remanufacturing

Remanufacturing as an answer to the ecological challenges of surgery

The ASGBI Congress 2023 in Harrogate aims to inform, educate and encourage surgeons, researchers and professionals working in the medical sector to exchange information about current developments, research results and best practices in surgery. The meeting featured various lectures, presentations, workshops and discussions to share the latest findings that continuously improve the quality of patient care. This year’s congress also had a session on sustainability. Remanufacturing was also on the agenda. To start things off, a video by Maria Koijck was presented for this purpose, showing how much medical waste came about during the course of her breast surgery in the wake of her cancer diagnosis. Jeremy Hayden, Lead Clinician, Upper GI & Bariatric Surgery at St. James Hospital, Leeds, followed up on this topic by sharing his experience of using remanufacturing medical devices in his department. Medical remanufacturing is a good example of sustainability by using available resources and reducing waste. In the process, he particularly emphasized the environmental and financial benefits that remanufacturing offers.