The Comparative Medical Costs of 2 Major Procedures Available for the Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence

Female urinary stress incontinence is a common surgical problem. We reviewed the case records of 71 women who were operated upon for stress incontinence at our medical center from 1975 to 1980. Of these women 30 underwent the Pereyra-Stamey endoscopically controlled suspension of the bladder neck and 41 underwent the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz repair. We compared the major components of care contributing to the cost of each surgical procedure. At current 1980 prices a significant saving of 4 days in hospital stay and of $2,500 in total medical costs can be effected by choosing the Pereyra-Stamey technique over the Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure. No important differences were noted in complications, operating room time or surgeon's fees.