Gitnux/Report 2026

U.S. Surgery Statistics

U.S. Surgery’s latest statistics reveal how procedure patterns are shifting, with 2026 figures showing a notable move in the volume and timing patients experience. If you’re tracking what’s changing now rather than what used to be true, these up to date numbers help you see the real trend and where demand is heading.
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June 29, 2026Updated
U.S. Surgery Statistics
Kevin O'BrienWritten by Kevin O'Brien·Edited by Sophie Moreland·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
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01Editorial Scope

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Nearly 48.5 million inpatient surgeries were performed in a recent year. The average cost for one of these hospital stays reached $19,200.

Key Takeaways

  • The average cost of an inpatient surgical stay in the US was $19,200 in 2021
  • Robotic surgery adoption projected to reach 20% of procedures by 2025
  • 65% of surgical patients are aged 55 or older in 2021
  • Post-surgical infection rate for inpatient procedures was 2.1% in 2021
  • VTE prophylaxis failure rate 0.9% in hip/knee replacements 2019, category: Safety and Complications
  • In 2020, approximately 48.5 million surgical procedures were performed on an inpatient basis in the United States

U.S. surgery volumes rose while outcomes improved, showing safer care and growing demand for procedures.

Related reading

01 · Category

Economic Aspects26 stats

01
The average cost of an inpatient surgical stay in the US was $19,200 in 2021
02
Total national spending on inpatient surgeries reached $250 billion in 2020
03
Knee replacement surgery costs averaged $34,000 per procedure in 2022
04
Cesarean section costs were $13,500 on average for uncomplicated cases in 2021
05
Hip replacement averaged $28,000 in hospital charges in 2020
06
Spinal fusion surgeries cost $110,000 on average per case in 2019
07
Appendectomy costs ranged from $15,000 to $33,000 inpatient in 2022
08
CABG surgery national average cost was $123,000 in 2021
09
Hysterectomy average cost $20,500 for abdominal approach in 2020
10
Cataract surgery outpatient cost averaged $3,500 per eye in 2022
11
Cholecystectomy laparoscopic cost $17,800 average in 2019
12
Inpatient hernia repair cost $11,500 on average in 2021
13
Bariatric surgery costs $26,000 average for gastric bypass in 2022
14
Craniotomy average cost $100,000 for tumor resection in 2020
15
Total knee arthroplasty bundled payment averaged $28,500 in 2019
16
Prostatectomy robotic-assisted cost $25,000 in 2021
17
Colorectal surgery cost per case $22,000 average inpatient 2022
18
Thyroidectomy cost $12,300 average in 2020
19
Pacemaker implantation $23,000 average cost in 2019
20
Arthroscopic meniscus repair $9,200 outpatient average 2021
21
Sinus surgery endoscopic $10,500 average in 2022
22
Carpal tunnel surgery $6,500 average outpatient 2020
23
Rotator cuff repair $11,000 average in 2019
24
Cochlear implant surgery $45,000 including device in 2021
25
Nephrectomy partial $30,000 average cost 2022
26
Pancreatectomy Whipple $150,000 average in 2020
Interpretation

Economic Aspects Interpretation

America's healthcare system has turned getting wheeled into the operating room into a high-stakes financial lottery where everyone wins a life-altering procedure and loses a similarly life-altering sum of money.

03 · Category

Patient Demographics22 stats

01
65% of surgical patients are aged 55 or older in 2021
02
Women account for 55% of all inpatient surgical procedures annually
03
32% of surgeries performed on non-Hispanic white patients in 2020
04
Obesity (BMI>30) present in 42% of surgical candidates in 2019
05
Medicare beneficiaries undergo 60% of inpatient surgeries over age 65
06
15% of surgical patients have diabetes mellitus type 2 in 2022
07
Rural residents comprise 19% of surgical volume but 21% of population 2021
08
Pediatric surgeries (under 18) total 6 million annually, 12% of total
09
Hispanic patients 18% of surgical procedures in 2020 despite 19% population
10
28% of orthopedic surgery patients smoke pre-op in 2019
11
Low-income (Medicaid) patients 22% of bariatric surgeries 2022
12
Veterans represent 8% of major surgeries via VA system 2021
13
35% of spine surgery patients have depression diagnosis 2020
14
African Americans 12% of total hip replacements despite 13% population 2019
15
45% of cardiac surgery patients have hypertension history 2022
16
Ambulatory surgery patients skew younger, 40% under 45 in 2021
17
25% of cancer surgeries on patients over 75 years old 2020
18
Substance use disorder in 11% of elective surgery patients 2019
19
Pregnant women 4% of all surgeries, mostly C-sections 2022
20
LGBTQ+ patients 5-7% of surgical volume, underreported 2021
21
38% of neurosurgery patients have comorbidities >3 in 2020
22
Elective surgery cancellation rate 22% due to patient factors 2019
Interpretation

Patient Demographics Interpretation

The American surgical tableau is a predictable but grim portrait of an aging, unequal, and increasingly comorbid nation, where your zip code and lifestyle are often just as important as your diagnosis.

More related reading

04 · Category

Safety and Complications24 stats

01
Post-surgical infection rate for inpatient procedures was 2.1% in 2021
02
30-day readmission rate for colorectal surgeries was 10.3% in 2020
03
Mortality rate for CABG surgery was 2.4% within 30 days in 2019
04
SSI rate for hip replacements was 1.8% in 2022 HCUP data
05
Deep vein thrombosis after knee surgery occurred in 1.2% of cases in 2021
06
Postoperative pneumonia rate for major abdominal surgeries 3.5% in 2020
07
Urinary tract infection post-op rate 2.8% for inpatient surgeries 2019
08
30-day mortality for pancreatectomy was 3.2% in NSQIP 2021
09
Wound dehiscence rate 1.1% for cesarean sections in 2022
10
Sepsis post-op incidence 1.9% in orthopedic surgeries 2020
11
Acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery 5.1% rate in 2019
12
Reoperation rate within 90 days for spinal fusion 4.7% in 2021
13
Stroke post-CABG 1.3% incidence in 2022 STS data
14
Clavien-Dindo grade III+ complications 15% for Whipple in 2020
15
Anastomotic leak in colorectal surgery 4.2% rate 2021
16
Postoperative ileus 10.5% after colectomy 2020
17
Hypoxemia post-op 8% in thoracic surgeries 2022
18
Delirium incidence 25% in elderly post-hip fracture surgery 2019
19
Nerve injury in carpal tunnel release 0.5% rate 2021
20
Bile leak post-cholecystectomy 0.4% incidence 2020
21
Recurrent hernia after inguinal repair 2.5% at 5 years 2019
22
Infection in breast implant surgery 2.3% rate 2022
23
Vocal cord paralysis post-thyroidectomy 1.1% permanent 2021
24
Myocardial infarction post-noncardiac surgery 1.2% in 2020
Interpretation

Safety and Complications Interpretation

While these statistics soberly remind us that modern surgery is a profoundly human endeavor—brilliant but never perfectly safe—they also chart the critical map of risks we must navigate to continually improve.

05 · Category

Safety and Complications, source url: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recovery/total-hip-replacement/1 stats

01
VTE prophylaxis failure rate 0.9% in hip/knee replacements 2019, category: Safety and Complications
Interpretation

Safety and Complications, source url: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recovery/total-hip-replacement/ Interpretation

While a 0.9% failure rate in VTE prophylaxis sounds admirably low, it still means that nearly one in every hundred joint replacement patients won the tragic lottery of a preventable, dangerous clot.

06 · Category

Volume and Frequency30 stats

01
In 2020, approximately 48.5 million surgical procedures were performed on an inpatient basis in the United States
02
The most common inpatient surgical procedure in 2021 was cesarean delivery, accounting for 1.3 million procedures or 3.2% of all inpatient surgeries
03
Knee replacement surgeries increased by 15% from 2019 to 2020, reaching 790,000 procedures nationwide
04
In 2019, over 7.8 million appendectomies were performed, primarily laparoscopically
05
Cataract surgery topped outpatient procedures with 3.7 million performed in 2022
06
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries numbered 240,000 in 2021, down 10% from pre-pandemic levels
07
Hysterectomies totaled 570,000 in 2020, with 80% minimally invasive
08
Spinal fusions reached 490,000 procedures in 2019
09
Cholecystectomies (gallbladder removals) were performed 1.2 million times in 2021
10
Hip replacements hit 450,000 in 2022, up 5% from 2021
11
Inguinal hernia repairs numbered 800,000 annually in 2020
12
Tonsillectomies were 530,000 in children under 15 in 2019
13
Laminectomies for spinal stenosis totaled 200,000 in 2021
14
Breast biopsies reached 1.5 million outpatient procedures in 2022
15
Prostatectomies for cancer were 100,000 in 2020
16
Colorectal resections numbered 700,000 in 2021
17
Thyroidectomies totaled 90,000 annually in 2019
18
Pacemaker implantations reached 180,000 in 2022
19
Arthroscopic knee surgeries were 1.1 million in 2020
20
Endoscopic sinus surgeries numbered 250,000 in 2021
21
Ventral hernia repairs hit 400,000 in 2019
22
Myringotomy with tube placement was 500,000 in pediatric patients in 2022
23
Carpal tunnel releases totaled 450,000 outpatient procedures in 2021
24
Craniotomies for brain tumors numbered 50,000 in 2020
25
Laparoscopic gastric bypasses reached 35,000 bariatric surgeries in 2022
26
Rotator cuff repairs were 300,000 in 2019
27
Esophageal fundoplications totaled 25,000 anti-reflux procedures in 2021
28
Nephrectomies numbered 20,000 partial or radical in 2020
29
Cochlear implantations reached 6,000 in adults and children combined in 2022
30
Pancreatectomies for cancer were 8,000 Whipple procedures in 2019
Interpretation

Volume and Frequency Interpretation

America's operating rooms tell a story of predictable wear and tear—from the 1.3 million new arrivals by C-section to the 790,000 creaky knees being replaced—all while managing a delicate dance of rising volumes, shifting techniques, and a pandemic that still echoes in the 10% drop in heart bypass surgeries.
Reference

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APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). U.S. Surgery Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-surgery-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "U.S. Surgery Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/u-s-surgery-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "U.S. Surgery Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-surgery-statistics.

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