CONCURRENT HYSTERECTOMY AT BILATERAL SALPINGO-OOPHORECTOMY - BENEFITS, RISKS, AND COSTS

Objective: To evaluate the medical and economic consequences of concur rent hysterectomy at the time of bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) for benign ovarian disease in peri- and postmenopausal women. Methods : Decision analysis was used to compare the health outcomes and econom ic costs of performing BSO with concurrent hysterectomy Versus BSO alo ne in theoretic cohorts of 10,000 women undergoing surgery for benign adnexal disease. A model was constructed incorporating probabilities o f possible outcomes from the National Hospital Discharge Database, the National Cancer Institute SEER Program, and the literature. Data on a ssociated costs were obtained from the California State Discharge Data base, Medicare, and the literature. Results: Performing concurrent hys terectomy in a cohort of 10,000 45-year-old women would prevent approx imately 71 future deaths from gynecologic disease at a cost of five im mediate deaths from the surgery. However, short-term complications are much more frequent in women undergoing hysterectomy. On average, hyst erectomy at age 45 adds approximately 0.071 years of life expectancy; at age 55, it adds 0.026 years. The procedure results in cost savings of approximately $1913 per patient at age 45 and $1112 at age 55. Conc lusion: Concurrent hysterectomy causes short-term morbidity, but appea rs to increase average life expectancy slightly among perimenopausal w omen and is cost-saving. Medical outcomes and economic consequences on ly marginally favor the procedure. Patient preferences for the potenti al outcomes should play a key role in determining the appropriateness of its use. Copyright (C) by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.