A comparison of the cost of local versus general anesthesia for laparoscopic sterilization in an operating room...

To compare the charges between laparoscopic sterilization performed under either local or general anesthesia in a traditional operating room setting with anesthesia personnel in attendance.

A retrospective review of charges.

The Regional Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee.

Sixty-five women undergoing laparoscopic sterilization, 33 under local and 32 under general anesthesia. Interventions. Laparoscopic sterilization.

Patient demographics, history of pelvic inflammatory disease, and history of previous surgery were similar for both groups. Operating room and recovery room times were shorter for patients whose procedures were performed under local anesthesia. Flat-rate fee schedules reduced the cost savings for cases performed under local anesthesia to $529 dollars per case, with 76% ($402) of the savings related to anesthetic drugs or equipment.

Although these savings appear minimal on a per case basis, if 50% of the approximately 210,000 laparoscopic sterilizations performed in the United States each year were performed under local anesthesia, a savings of over $55 million could be achieved (105,000 cases X $529 = $55,545,000). This would result in substantial overall monetary savings to the health care system.