Philly-area inpatient cancer surgeries fell last year, while Penn Medicine kept top market share

Hospitals in Southeastern Pennsylvania performed slightly fewer inpatient cancer surgeries last year, new data released last week by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council showed.

The number of inpatient cancer surgeries fell last year to 9,480 from 9,675 in 2022.

A factor in the overall 2% decline was a shift of prostate surgeries from inpatient to outpatient, the independent group said.

Fifty-seven percent of prostate cancer surgeries were done on an outpatient basis in the year ended June 30, up from 52% in 2022.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s hospitals maintained their lead in the regional market for inpatient cancer surgeries. Penn’s market share grew to 35% for the year ended June 30, from 30% in 2017. These figures do not include Lancaster General or Princeton Medical Center, both owned by Penn.

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in University City led in all types of cancer surgery, with the exception of pancreas surgeries (Thomas Jefferson University Hospital) and bladder surgeries (Hospital of the Fox Chase Cancer Center).

In its new report, the council for the first time provided data on outpatient procedures in ambulatory surgery centers. Privately owned Abington Surgical Center in Willow Grove had the largest number of breast cancer surgeries in a surgery center, with 233, followed by Jefferson Surgical Center at the Navy Yard, with 108 surgeries.

Historically, the council has included breast cancer surgeries done in a hospital on an outpatient basis in the inpatient surgery count. The Inquirer followed that practice for the 2023 data to have comparable data with earlier years.

Among surgery centers, MidLantic Urology’s facility in Wayne had the most bladder surgeries, with 104.