Surgical Costs in an Otorhinolaryngology Department

Objective To describe the costs of the surgical procedures most frequently performed in an otorhinolaryngology department. Materials and method A descriptive economic analysis of the 5 most frequent surgical procedures performed during 2006, based on the following variables: human resources, non-structural equipment, medication, diagnostic tests and hospitalization during pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative phases. Results Of the 1108 procedures, the most common was tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy with 25.45% (282), followed by thyroidectomy/hemithyroidectomy with 8.39% (93), septoplasty with 8.3% (92), endoscopic CO 2 laser with 8.21% (91), and tympanoplasty with 7.85% (87). The total cost for each surgical procedure was €301.02, €1422.09, €315.57, €1245.29, and €1454.04, respectively. Conclusions The analysis of costs shows a direct relationship between the complexity of the procedure and its cost, in terms of human resources, equipment and hospitalization. The use of ambulatory surgery units positively influenced by reducing costs.