Rates of surgery in the United States: the decade of the 1970s.

Rates of surgery for gynecology, general surgery, otorhinolaryngology, and urology have either decreased or reached a plateau since 1974. Increasing rates are demonstrated for orthopedics, ophthalmology, cardiothoracic surgery, and neurosurgery. These changes are analyzed. Such data can help health care planners to more accurately predict the future of surgical health care delivery.