Report: Geisinger Wyoming Valley has done most cancer surgeries in county

A new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council looking at data from June 2020 through June 2021 shows Geisinger Wyoming Valley conducted more surgeries in all 11 cancer categories than Wilkes-Barre General and Lehigh Valley – Hazleton.

The annual report provides the number of surgeries for 11 types of cancer: Bladder, brain, breast, colon, esophagus, liver, lung, pancreas, prostate, rectum and stomach. Geisinger was the only one of Luzerne County’s three hospitals that performed surgeries for all 11 cancers.

Wilkes-Barre General had no surgeries reported for the esophagus, liver and pancreas, while Lehigh Valley – Hazleton had none for brain, esophagus, liver, pancreas and prostate. Lehigh Valley – Hazleton often sends cases requiring more specialized treatment to the system’s main hospital, Lehigh Valley – Allentown, which has performed surgeries in all 11 cancers.

Combined, the three Luzerne County facilities performed 488 surgeries, with Geisinger conducting 355 of them, or 72.7%. Wilkes-Barre General conducted 105, or 21.5%, while Lehigh Valley – Hazleton conducted 28, or 5.7%.