Can Changing Our Anesthesia Practice Help Save The Polar Bears?
When we administer anesthesia, we pay a great deal of attention to the concentration of nitrous oxide and halogenated agents such as sevoflurane or desflurane that our patient receives. We know that too much or too little of these gases can harm our patients. We are often less compulsive about avoiding exposure to ourselves, or even our Operating Room colleagues to waste anesthetic gases. There are health risks to waste anesthesia gas exposure. In addition, nitrous oxide and our anesthetic inhalation gases are green house gases that contribute to climate change. Read More …