New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): With the increasing demand for affordable care, the minimally invasive surgery (MIS) market is expected to reach $80 billion by the financial year 2025, a new report showed on Monday.

MIS includes any surgical procedure that is performed through tiny incisions instead of a large opening.

Most common MIS surgeries include laparoscopy (appendicitis, hernia and gallstone), gynaecology (hysterectomy, vaginal cyst removal), urology (kidney stones and prostate) and ophthalmology (cataract and LASIK).

According to Bengaluru-based market research firm RedSeer, in the coming years with the increase in awareness, more medical professionals skilled to perform these surgeries, the availability of these services will increase.

"Notably, as the cost of the surgeries is comparatively lower, these procedures will see higher demand in the smaller cities and towns wherein affordability is a major constraint," the report said.

The overall Indian healthcare market which stood at $150 billion in the financial year 2020, is forecast to grow up to $300 billion in the next five years.

"Factors like rising urbanisation along with increasing healthcare awareness, easy accessibility, increase in lifestyle diseases, and government policies will accelerate the growth of the sector," the findings showed.

Currently, 70 percent of the spend, that is $105 billion, is on in-patient care which is handled by merely 70,000 hospitals.

Further, more than 70 percent of the inpatient care market is led by surgeries.

"Additionally, only 22,000 hospitals are enabled to perform these surgeries. These include corporate chain hospitals, medium-sized and small-sized hospitals. Of this, private and large-scale hospitals are the biggest providers for MIS which makes it a major challenge," the report emphasised.

India's healthcare industry is undergoing an unprecedented crisis in the second wave of the pandemic.

While the overall industry has steadily grown over the past years, the industry is still lagging in a number of essential areas, the RedSeer report said.