Estimated costs of uterine artery embolization, myomectomy and hysterectomy for uterine fibroids from an Italian hospital perspective

Symptomatic fibroids have traditionally been treated with abdominal hysterectomy or abdominal myomectomy. Uterine artery embolization has proven to be an excellent treatment option for most women, with clinical success rates comparable to conventional surgical procedures. Earlier articles have also reported that embolization has lower hospital costs and a higher cost/effectiveness ratio than hysterectomy or myomectomy. We undertook this study to determine and compare the costs of embolization, abdominal hysterectomy and abdominal myomectomy from an Italian hospital perspective. We reviewed the medical records of 320 consecutive women with symptomatic fibroids who were treated between January and December 2011 at our institution. The mean hospital cost of embolization was 2270 €, which was significantly lower than that estimated for myomectomy (3658€) and hysterectomy (3744€) (P<.001). Lost productivity costs associated with myomectomy (3844€) and hysterectomy (5184€) were significantly higher than those for embolization (1296€) (P<.001). Our results suggest that embolization is more financially advantageous than conventional surgery as a treatment for fibroids in Italy.