Health economics of hysterectomy.

Health resources are finite, and it is increasingly necessary to practise medicine within defined budgets. Hysterectomy is recognized as one of the most frequently performed of all major surgical operations and is of great economic as well as medical and social importance. A full assessment of the value of an intervention requires consideration of both economic and clinical outcomes. New alternative therapies to uterine excision have been introduced, and new ways of performing hysterectomy have been developed. Cost-effectiveness analysis enables each of these approaches to be meaningfully compared. Using such analytic techniques, hysterectomy can be shown to be an effective and cost-effective intervention across a variety of indications. The vaginal route is the most cost-effective approach. There seems to be no obvious advantage in conserving or retaining the cervix, but there is as yet no evidence about the cost-effectiveness of concomitant oophorectomy.