The most expensive medical treatments are often gene therapies for rare diseases, like Keblidy (>$3.9M) or Zolgensma (>$2.1M), offering potential cures, but complex procedures like organ transplants (intestinal, heart, liver) and advanced cancer treatments also rank high, costing hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars due to surgical complexity, specialized care, and long recovery.
Most expensive medical procedures in the world
Heart disease is costliest condition to treat.
Spinal surgery, knee replacement, and other major orthopedic procedures are often cited as the "worst" surgeries to recover from due to severe pain and lengthy rehab. Recovering from major surgeries can be very tough and painful. At Liv Hospital, we know how hard these procedures can be on patients.
The medical name for the procedure is cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) or CRS/HIPEC.
According to the latest 2025 CEOWORLD Health Care Index, Taiwan once again ranks as the country with the best healthcare in the world, maintaining its top position with an overall score of 78.72. South Korea (77.7) and Australia (74.11) remain in second and third place, respectively.
According to Medbelle's 2019 Drug Price Index, the United States has the most expensive drugs in the world while Thailand has the lowest prices. In Latin America, the most expensive countries are Brazil, Argentina and Chile, which in several products appear among the 5 most expensive countries.
Here's a list of debilitating diseases that significantly change the lives of millions of people:
Heart Transplant: The Costliest Procedure
Heart transplants top the list as the most expensive medical procedure in 2024. The complexity of the surgery, the need for donor matching, and the lifelong post-transplant care contribute to the high cost.
Medical conditions that still remain incurable
Since its U.S. approval last year, Kyowa Kirin's $4.25 million metachromatic leukodystrophy gene therapy Lenmeldy has been the No. 1 most expensive drug. Lenmeldy overtook CSL's hemophilia B treatment Hemgenix, which carries a list price of $3.5 million and held down the top spot for more than a year.
Zolgensma holds the record as the most expensive injection in the world, priced at ₹17–₹18 crore (about $2.1 million). It is a one-time gene therapy approved for treating Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in children under two years old.
India is one of the top global hubs for affordable, high-quality healthcare. Patients save up to 90% on procedures compared to Western countries, while receiving treatment from internationally trained doctors in accredited hospitals.
That leap forward came at a sky-high price: more than $2 million per dose, making Zolgensma then the costliest one-time treatment ever.
1. Keytruda (pembrolizumab) Why it sold so well: Merck's flagship cancer immunotherapy Keytruda achieved expected, remarkable success in 2024, with global sales reaching $29.48 billion — an 18% increase from the previous year and accounting for 46% of the company's total revenue.
Most recently, Australia was ranked as having the third-best healthcare system in the world by the CEOWORLD magazine Health Care Index. We earned high marks for government readiness, modern medical infrastructure and equitable access.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is consistently ranked as the #1 hospital in the world by publications like Newsweek and Statista, earning this title for multiple years due to its high quality of care, patient safety, and outcomes, with rankings also highlighting its excellence in numerous specialized fields.
The best doctors in the world are often found in countries with top-ranked healthcare systems and medical education. These include the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
HIPEC surgery is a complex procedure. It usually requires eight to 10 hours in the operating room.
Surprisingly enough, trepanation—also known as “burr holes” and closely related to craniotomy and craniectomy—is actually the oldest known surgical procedure on record, with evidence of its use dating back as far as the Stone Age.
Flushing Is a temporary redness of the face and neck caused by dilation of the blood capillaries. Flushing is due to a variety of causes such as certain chemotherapy drugs. Carcinoid tumors can also cause flushing as part of carcinoid syndrome. Other causes are alcohol and other drugs.