Parents given a choice of the type of appendectomy procedure for their children tend to pick the less expensive, more invasive kind, according to a study in the Annals of Surgery. Researchers found parents tended to opt for the traditional appendectomy procedure over a laparoscopic removal, which is about $2,000 less. The outcomes for both procedures are identical in children. The study suggested that greater price transparency for patients and their parents could help drive down costs. The price of an appendectomy approaches $14,000 in the U.S., nearly triple that in the Netherlands and Australia and seven times the cost in Spain. Study