National Health Insurance Service Publishes "2024 Major Surgery Statistics Yearbook"
Medical Expenses for 35 Major Surgeries Reach 9.3 Trillion Won... Average Annual Increase of 5%
Last year, the most common surgeries among Koreans were cataract surgery, general spinal surgery, and cesarean section. Over the past five years, the number of major surgeries has seen only a slight increase, but medical expenses for surgeries have been rising at an annual rate of over 5%.
According to the “2024 Major Surgery Statistics Yearbook” published by the National Health Insurance Service on November 27, the total number of 35 major surgeries performed in South Korea last year reached 2,054,344 cases, up 0.4% from the previous year and showing an average annual increase of 0.6% over the past five years. The number of patients who underwent surgery was 1,699,032, which is a decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous year.
Cataract surgery was the most common procedure, with 664,306 cases, up 4.1% from the previous year. This was followed by general spinal surgery with 202,099 cases and cesarean section with 160,804 cases.
The number of major surgeries per 100,000 people was 3,876, with cataract surgery at 1,253, cesarean section at 607, and general spinal surgery at 381. The number of major surgeries per 100,000 people is calculated by dividing the total number of each surgery by the population covered by medical insurance (including both health insurance subscribers and medical aid beneficiaries), then multiplying by 100,000. For cesarean sections, only the female population is used in the calculation.
Total medical expenses for major surgeries amounted to 9.3075 trillion won, an increase of 3.3% from the previous year. The average annual growth rate over the past five years was 5.1%. Surgeries with the highest medical expenses were general spinal surgery at 957 billion won, cataract surgery at 855.7 billion won, and knee replacement surgery at 847.3 billion won.
The average medical expense per surgery increased by 2.8% to 4.53 million won. Surgeries with the highest per-case expenses were heart surgery at 41.37 million won, coronary artery bypass surgery at 37.01 million won, and stem cell transplantation at 24.58 million won. In contrast, surgeries with the lowest per-case expenses were hemorrhoid surgery at 1.2 million won, cataract surgery at 1.29 million won, and varicose vein ligation and removal at 1.42 million won.
The average hospital stay per major surgery was 5.7 days, a decrease of 1.7% from the previous year. Surgeries with the longest hospital stays were knee replacement surgery at 20.4 days, stem cell transplantation at 19.9 days, and hip replacement surgery at 19.3 days. Surgeries with the shortest hospital stays were cataract surgery at 1.1 days, varicose vein ligation and removal at 1.9 days, and hemorrhoid surgery at 2.3 days.
By age group, the highest number of surgical patients was in their 60s with 399,038, followed by those in their 70s with 377,121, and those in their 50s with 231,240. By age, tonsillectomy was most common among those aged 9 and under, appendectomy among teenagers, cesarean section among those in their 20s and 30s, hemorrhoid surgery among those in their 40s, and cataract surgery was the most common procedure from the 50s and older.
Of the total 2,054,000 major surgeries, the largest share-730,306 cases (35.5%)-was performed at clinics, followed by general hospitals with 527,281 cases (25.7%), hospitals with 425,009 cases (20.7%), and tertiary general hospitals with 371,577 cases (18.1%).
The Major Surgery Statistics Yearbook is available on the National Health Insurance Service website starting today. From this year, statistics on “lung resection” and “colon resection” have also been included.
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