Ambulatory Surgery in the United States, 2006

Abstract

In 2006, an estimated 57.1 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed during 34.7 million ambulatory surgery visits. Of the 34.7 million visits, 19.9 million occurred in hospitals and 14.9 million occurred in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers. The rate of visits to freestanding ambulatory surgery centers increased about 300% from 1996 to 2006, whereas the rate of visits to hospital-based surgery centers remained largely unchanged during that time period.