Eurostat: 5.0m EU cataract surgeries
- Eurostat said cataract surgery was performed just over 5.0 million times in the European Union in 2023, the bloc’s most common operation. - The EU-wide rate was 1,118 surgeries per 100,000 people, with Luxembourg highest at 1,627.3 and France and Estonia also above 1,500. - The total topped 2022’s 4.73 million, extending cataract surgery’s lead among EU procedures. (ec.europa.eu)
Cataract surgery was performed just over 5.0 million times in the European Union in 2023, Eurostat said on April 27. (ec.europa.eu) A cataract operation removes the eye’s clouded natural lens so light can pass through clearly again. Eurostat put the 2023 EU rate at 1,118.0 surgeries per 100,000 people. (ec.europa.eu) Luxembourg recorded the highest national rate at 1,627.3 surgeries per 100,000 people. France and Estonia followed, each above 1,500 per 100,000. (ec.europa.eu) Cataract surgery was already the European Union’s most common surgical procedure in 2022, when Eurostat counted 4.73 million operations across member states. The 2023 total moved above that level. (euronews.com) (ec.europa.eu) The figures show how much routine eye care depends on system capacity as much as operating-room technique. Cataract surgery is typically done at very high volume and is widely treated as one of medicine’s most common and cost-effective procedures. (nature.com) (ec.europa.eu) Eurostat’s release did not break down why countries differ so much, but the spread points to variation in access, scheduling, and outpatient throughput. Separate market data show some countries perform nearly all cataract cases as outpatient procedures while others do far fewer. (ec.europa.eu) (reportlinker.com) The latest Eurostat update keeps cataract surgery at the center of Europe’s hospital workload. In 2023 alone, the bloc averaged more than 13,700 cataract operations a day. (ec.europa.eu)
