Norwood procedure Cost in Germany

The cost of the norwood procedure in Germany typically ranges from $7,000 to $25,000 USD, depending on the hospital, city, and type of procedure.

The Norwood procedure is the first of three operations for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), where the left side of the heart is too small to pump blood to the body. In Germany, the total depends on:

• Newborn surgery: in the first days of life.
• Type of shunt: a shunt or a conduit to the lungs.
• Long intensive care: after surgery.
• Further operations: Glenn and Fontan.

Norwood surgery and the intensive care that follows often cost more than the range above.

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne explains that stage 1 (Norwood) is done in the first days of life, using a shunt or a conduit from the right ventricle to the lung artery.

Stage 2 (cavopulmonary connection) follows at about 3 months, and the Fontan at about 4 to 5 years.

The hospital reports that up to 3 in 10 babies die between stage 1 and stage 2, and that about 4 in 10 do not survive to 10 years.

Long-term complications after the Fontan are common, so lifelong care is needed.

International patients are usually treated in Germany as self-paying patients: the hospital reviews the medical reports, sends a cost estimate and asks for an advance payment before admission, then settles the final bill after discharge.

Inpatient hospital care in Germany is billed under the German DRG system, which depends on the main diagnosis, other diagnoses and the procedures carried out, so the final amount is known only after the stay.

Children's heart surgery is usually provided in specialist paediatric heart centres. Ask the centre about its experience with this operation and what the estimate includes.