The cost of a hysterectomy in a UK hospital.

Vaginal hysterectomy has been demonstrated to be the cheapest route to perform a hysterectomy but no detailed costing has been performed in the United Kingdom. In this study the costs incurred by a UK teaching hospital for 30 women aged between 40 and 50 years of age undergoing either abdominal (AH), laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LH) were compared with vaginal hysterectomy (VH). VH was significantly the cheapest procedure (993.00 Pounds, 95th Cl 883.20 Pounds to 1124.80 Pounds) and there was a tendency for LH (1148.00 Pounds, 95th Cl 1006.80 Pounds to 1289.20 Pounds) to be less expensive than AH (1340.00 Pounds, 95th CI 1080.80 Pounds to 1595.20 Pounds); this difference may be reversed if disposable laparoscopic instruments were to be used for LH. Our study agrees with data from other countries showing that VH is the cheapest type of hysterectomy. With the added benefits of shorter hospital stay, convalescence and return to work, effort should be directed towards increasing the proportion of hysterectomies performed vaginally in the UK.