Comparison of treatment costs of laparoscopic and open surgery

Abstract

Introduction: Laparoscopy has been a standard procedure in most medical centres providing surgical services for many years. Both the range and number of laparoscopic procedures performed are constantly increasing. Over the last decade, laparoscopic procedures have been successfully applied both in emergency and oncological surgery. However, treatment costs have become a more important factor in choosing between open or laparoscopic procedures.

Aim: To present the total real costs of open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, appendectomy and sigmoidectomy.

Material and methods: Between 1 May 2010 and 30 March 2015 in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, General and Oncological Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, and in the Department of General Surgery of the Saint John of God Hospital, Lodz, doctors performed 1404 cholecystectomies, 392 appendectomies and 88 sigmoidectomies. A total of 97% of the cholecystectomy procedures were laparoscopic and 3% were open. Similarly, 22% of total appendectomies were laparoscopic and 78% were open, while 9% of sigmoidectomies were laparoscopic and 91% open.

Results: The requirement for single-use equipment in laparoscopic procedures increases the expense. However, after adding up all other costs, surprisingly, differences between the costs of laparoscopic and open procedures ranged from 451 PLN/€ 114 for laparoscopic operations to 611 PLN/€ 153 for open operations.

Conclusions: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, considered the standard surgery for treating gallbladder diseases, is cheaper than open cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic appendectomy and sigmoidectomy are safe methods of minimally invasive surgery, slightly more expensive than open operations. Of all the analyzed procedures, one-day laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most profitable. The costs of both laparoscopic and open sigmoidectomy are greatly underestimated in Poland.

Keywords: appendectomy; cholecystectomy; costs of treatment; laparoscopy; open surgery; sigmoidectomy.