Seven procedures account for 80% of emergency general surgery operations, deaths, and complications, US study finds

Each year more than half a million patients in the United States undergo urgent or emergency general surgery at an annual cost of more than $6bn (£4.1bn; €5.2bn), but just seven procedures account for 80% of these operations and related deaths, surgical complications, and costs, a new study has found.

The seven most costly emergency general surgery procedures identified by the study were partial colectomy, small bowel resection, cholecystectomy, operative management of peptic ulcer disease, lysis of peritoneal adhesions, appendectomy, and laparotomy. “These first 7 procedure groups accounted for 80.0% of all procedures, 80.3% of all deaths, 78.9% of all …