Laparoscopic and abdominal hysterectomy: a cost comparison

Abstract

Objective: To compare the cost of laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) with that of total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) under casemix.

Design: Retrospective comparison of the costs, operating time and length of hospital stay.

Patients: The 16 women undergoing consecutive LAVH and 16 age-matched women undergoing TAH between 1 February 1994 and 31 July 1995; all women were public patients undergoing hysterectomy for benign disease.

Setting: Monash Medical Centre, a large tertiary teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where casemix is used to determine funding and budget allocation.

Results: The difference between the costs of the two procedures was not statistically significant (P = 0.5), despite the cost of laparoscopic hysterectomy including that of disposables. The mean operating time for TAH was 86 minutes (95% CI, 65.5-106.5), compared with 120 minutes (95% CI, 100.8-140.5) for LAVH (P < 0.01). The mean length of stay in the TAH group was 5.75 days, compared with 3.25 days in the LAVH group (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: In hysterectomy for benign gynaecological disease, the laparoscopic procedure costs the same as the total abdominal procedure. Audit such as this is important in patient management and in guiding hospitals in funding and bed allocation.