American Academy of Ophthalmology Awards Best Paper for LCA of Cataract Surgery

Dr. Cassandra Thiel presented research on the waste generation and life cycle environmental emissions from cataract surgery in the US and India at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).  The work compared 5 medical facilities in the US with Aravind Eye Care System in southern India.  While all cataract surgeries produced similar outcomes, the US facilities generated 10x the waste and over 10x the carbon footprint per case compared to Aravind.  The study was well received, and the AAO awarded the paper "Best Original Paper" from that session.