Total hysterectomy for benign pathologies: direct costs comparison between laparoscopic and abdominal hysterectomy

Objectives: The aim of this study is a direct costs comparison between laparoscopic and abdominal total hysterectomy when theses procedures are indicated for benign pathologies. Study design: To this end we compared the direct costs of total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) calculated from a series of 105 patients with that obtained for a comparable series of 30 patients who underwent hysterectomy by laparotomy. Results: The direct costs of total hysterectomy for a benign pathology by laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy are comparable (respectively 7693 French francs (FF) and 7759 FF). Whatever the type of operation the cost for staff represents 60% of the total cost. Expenditure for staff during the operation represents 41.0% of the total cost of TLH (3154 FF/7693 EF) whereas it represents only 31.0% of the cost of the operation when carried out by laparotomy (2406 FF/7759 FF) (P<0.0001). Inversely the expenditure due to staff during the post operative phase represents 24.1% of the total cost of the operation when laparotomy is used (1875 FF/7759 FF) and only 13.4% of the cost of the operation by laparoscopic surgery (1029 FF/7693 FF) (P<0.0001). When the operation uses laparoscopic surgery the increase in expenditure during the surgical act is compensated by the statistically significant shortening in the hospital stay. Expenditure connected with the laparoscopic surgery equipment is minimal compared to the costs connected with the staff. Conclusion: Provided that TLH is carried out with reusable laparoscopic surgery equipment, by skilled surgeons working in suitable hospital structures making the particularly heavy investment in laparoscopic surgery equipment economically viable, TLH is an economically viable technique as an alternative to laparotomy. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.