(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Cataract surgery was most widely conducted surgical procedure in South Korea last year, data showed Wednesday.
The National Health Insurance Service reported that last year a total of 1.68 million people underwent 33 types of major surgerical procedures, excluding plastic surgery.
Cataract surgery was the most common type of surgical procedure (497,000 people) last year. Including surgical procedures for both eyes, a total of 781,220 cataract surgeries were conducted last year.
Cataract surgery was followed by spine surgery (190,000 people) and hemorrhoids surgery (158,000 people).
Partial mastectomies jumped in frequency over the last five years, rising from 26,158 cases in 2017 to 41,881 cases in 2021 for an average increase of 12.5 percent each year.
The number of cataract surgeries also grew by 9.2 percent every year. The number of thyroid operations, which had temporarily dwindled amid controversy of overdiagnosis, began to climb back up by 6.7 percent each year since 2017.
Sorted by age group, hernia operations were most frequently undergone among children under 9 years of age, appendectomies among teens, and cesarean sections among those in their 20s and 30s.
Hemorrhoids operations were the most common procedure among 40-somethings, and cataract surgeries among those in their 50s or older.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
