Report: Cataract, IOL surgeries most common procedures in ASCs in 2003

Cataract and IOL surgeries were the most commonly performed procedures in U.S. outpatient surgery centers during 2003, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Of 431,000 cataract and IOL procedures performed in 2003, 99.6% took place in ambulatory surgery centers, making ASCs the most common setting for outpatient surgeries overall, the report said.

The next most common procedures performed on an outpatient basis involved muscle and tendon procedures, followed by tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies.

The agency based its report on data from 17 states, which were collected from two national patient databases that the agency maintains.