Urological operations in the United States: 1979 to 1984.

With data from the National Center for Health Statistics an in-depth analysis of numbers of urological operations from 1979 to 1984 was performed. During the 5-year study period there was an increase in total numbers of urological operations of 7 per cent, while the number of urological surgeons increased 18 per cent. In 1983 urologists performed 1,680,000 operations. Prostatectomy (357,000) was the most common urological procedure and the tenth most frequent operation in this country. The 20 most common urological operations constitute 69 per cent of all urological operations. In 1983 urological operations represented 9 per cent of all procedures completed in this country. These figures illustrate the dynamics of urological surgical practice. The numbers of urological operations have increased minimally during the last 5 years despite constantly increasing numbers of urologists. The belief that urological operative rates will inevitably increase as the number of urologists increases is not supported by this study.