Sustainability in Surgery: Paving the Way Together

Planning for the AAGL 2023 Global Congress on MIGS is well underway! I am honored to serve as the Chair of the Scientific Program Committee (SPC) for this year’s event and to prepare, along with all committee members, a Scientific Program that will enrich your practice, skills and knowledge. We also wish to expand and inspire our minds to influence our impact in the world. This year’s event will be held at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, November 6-9, 2023. Nashville is a city overflowing with musical talent. Our venue sits in the center of that creativity, giving us inspiration for the work we have ahead.

My hope is that this year’s Global Congress challenges you to pause, take in new perspectives and new information, improves care for our patients, and decreases the impact of our practice on the world we live in. The theme for this year’s event is Sustainability in Surgery: Paving the Way Together.

Our program is being designed by the SPC to include education on all modalities of MIGS care including hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, robotics, vNOTes and more. Through postgraduate courses, thought provoking presentations, stimulating AAGL MED Talks, panels, live and pre-recorded surgeries and general session lectures, we will develop as surgeons and as conscientious citizens of this planet.

While we will be focusing on reducing waste in our operating room and hospital settings, our Global Congress itself will have some changes to support our sustainability theme. Music City Center is the perfect location for this event because this venue practices environmental sustainability. In June 2013, the Music City Center was named the winner of the 2013 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in the Building Green category. This award recognizes sustainability initiatives not required by law and chose the Music City Center because of its various sustainable features such as a four-acre green roof, 845 solar panels, innovative storm water capture system, LED lighting and high-efficiency HVAC system. Our venue also practices extensive recycling and waste reduction. For example, unused food we bring in for the event will be donated to local charities.

In agreement with our theme, AAGL will be reducing the number of physical materials that it generates for this meeting. We encourage you to bring your own bags to replace the doctor’s bag typically supplied by the AAGL, as they will be in a very limited quantity. In addition, we will be printing fewer hard copy programs and encouraging you all to utilize the digital version of the program.

We will also continue to promote a virtual attendance option to give our members an opportunity to reduce the impact of travel on their wallets and on the planet. In addition, AAGL records most sessions to provide an On-Demand video library of Congress content for viewing online after the event. The 2022 Global Congress On-Demand content will be available starting March 22, 2023.

The environmental sustainability theme is essential. The healthcare industry, including hospitals and medical practices, generates a significant amount of waste and consumes vast amounts of energy. By learning about sustainability practices, doctors can reduce their environmental impact. In addition to the environment benefits, sustainability practices lead to cost savings for healthcare facilities, reduced energy consumption, and reduced waste disposal costs. Reducing the use of single-use instrumentation we will decrease the amount of waste in landfills and oceans. Learning about sustainability helps us develop a sense of social responsibility and take the actions needed to advocate for and promote sustainable practices in the operating room.

While we focus on improving care for each individual woman, we will also direct our attention to the planet that she lives on and evaluating our part in keeping both healthy. Let’s take steps together towards a greener AAGL! I look forward to seeing you all in Nashville!

 

Michel Canis, MD
with editorial support from AAGL staff