Researchers at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine have found that nearly $2.3 billion could have been saved.

The researchers conducted the study on 322,000 young and middle-aged adults and found that each minimally invasive surgery was $1,500 to $31,000 cheaper than traditional surgeries and led to an average of nine and 38 fewer missed days of work compared to traditional procedures.
“We're not saying everyone should get minimally-invasive surgery. What we are saying, I think, is that at least for these procedures, we've demonstrated there's this other dimension of potential value associated with minimally-invasive procedures. At the end of the day, it's still, ‘Talk to your physician and decide what's right”, lead researcher Andrew Epstein said.
Source-Medindia