What are the two most common surgical operations in the USA?

McGruff

Several procedures vie for the title of most common surgical procedure in the United States. Here are some references: Despite cataract surgery's prevalence--it is the most common surgical procedure in the United States--its best possible outcome still leaves patients seeing clearly only at fixed distances. http://www.whitaker.org/00_annual_report/shen.html After cataract surgery, which is the most common surgical procedure in the United States, most patients do not require thick glasses or contact lenses. {http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/ln.infoplease/;!category=xmain;ch=scitech;site=www.infoplease.com;test=no;pos=pop;slot=1;sz=1x1;tile=1;ord=1019414971?} CIRCUMCISION, the most commone surgical procedure in the United States,' has been affected by the societal and economic changes that have influenced surgical practice in recent years. http://www.vernon.dircon.co.uk/G_Weiss/neonatal.html Prostate surgery is the second most common surgical procedure in the United States. http://www.frhs.org/news31.htm In addition, some drugs treat the symptoms but do not stop the prostate from growing. In more severe cases, surgery is called for, making it the second-most-common surgical procedure in the United States. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/oldnews/1997/1118.html Next to cesarean sections, hysterectomies are the most common surgical procedure in the United States today, with about 590,000 of them performed annually. http://www.noaw.com/Hysterectomy/Hysterectomy.htm Apr 21 02, 7:14 PM

McG

For example, under the care of mainly male physicians, 'Hysterectomy is the second most common surgical procedure in the United States, performed on 550,000 women every year' (Rosser, 59). http://www.students.haverford.edu/wmbweb/writings/shgynecology.html Value Health Sciences found that 27 percent of all hysterectomies are inappropriate. This is the second most common major surgical procedure in the United States. http://www.preservenet.com/studies/AHealth.html Value Health Sciences found that about half of all Cesarean sections performed in the United States are inappropriate. This is the most common surgical procedure in the United States. http://www.preservenet.com/studies/AHealth.html Abortion is now the single most common surgical procedure in the United States, more common than biopsies and three times as frequent as tonsillectomies. http://www.cin.org/cf2-2.html Even though abortion is the most common surgical procedure in the United States, few scientific studies have been conducted to document its psychological impact. http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/1998/spring/aftermat.htm Apr 21 02, 7:16 PM