Top-rated facilities for robotic surgery treatment in North America: A Data-Driven Institutional Guide

The Scale of Robotic Surgery in North America

Robotic-assisted surgery now accounts for approximately 22% of all surgeries performed annually in the United States, according to data cited by the National Institutes of Health. 1 Nearly 100 million surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year, meaning robotic platforms are involved in tens of millions of procedures across a wide range of specialties. The primary driver of this adoption is the combination of smaller incisions, reduced blood loss, shorter hospital stays, decreased recovery time, and less postoperative pain compared to traditional open surgery.

The Intuitive Surgical da Vinci system remains the dominant FDA-authorized robotic platform used across leading North American medical centers, with iterations including the da Vinci Xi and the newer da Vinci 5. 2 Additional systems such as the Hugo RAS, the ROSA Knee System, the CORI Surgical System, and the handheld TMINI Miniature Robotic System from THINK Surgical have expanded the competitive technology landscape since 2024. Facilities differ substantially in the number of platforms operated, surgeon training volumes, and the breadth of specialties covered, making institutional comparison a meaningful exercise for patients evaluating their options.

How Top-Rated Centers Are Identified

Several independent frameworks are used to evaluate North American robotic surgery facilities. U.S. News and World Report annually assesses nearly 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialty areas, factoring in patient outcomes, nursing care levels, patient-reported experience, and available technology including computer-assisted surgical systems. 3 The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer provides accreditation for oncology surgical programs, while the National Cancer Institute maintains a directory of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, which frequently operate advanced robotic programs for cancer treatment. 4

Newsweek, in partnership with Statista, produces a Global Top 250 Hospitals ranking that evaluates institutions across 32 countries using hospital quality metrics, recommendations from medical experts, patient experience data, and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures. 5 U.S. hospitals consistently dominate this global list, with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio regularly occupying top positions. The Society of Gynecologic Oncology also provides specialty-level resources identifying hospitals participating in gynecologic oncology care networks, a useful reference for patients seeking robotic surgery for gynecologic cancers specifically.

Leading Institutions: Key Benchmarks and Specialties

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota is broadly recognized as a premier destination for robotic surgery across multiple disciplines including prostate cancer, kidney procedures, cardiac surgery, and gastrointestinal oncology. Cleveland Clinic achieved a landmark distinction in February 2026, becoming the first health system in the U.S. to perform robotic-assisted prostatectomy using the newly FDA-cleared Hugo RAS system, following the Expand URO clinical study, the largest ever completed for multi-port robotic-assisted urological surgery in the country. 6 The procedure was led by Dr. Jihad Kaouk, Professor and Chair of the Glickman Urologic Institute.

NYU Langone Health holds more No. 1-ranked specialties than any other U.S. medical center according to U.S. News and World Report's 2025-2026 rankings, with top positions in neurology and neurosurgery (fourth consecutive year), cardiology and heart and vascular surgery, pulmonology and lung surgery, and geriatrics. 7 All 13 of NYU Langone's ranked clinical specialties placed in the top 20 nationally, with nine in the top five. Hospital for Special Surgery in New York was ranked No. 1 in the nation for orthopedics for a record-breaking 16th consecutive year and No. 3 in rheumatology by U.S. News for 2025-2026, with performance assessed on patient outcomes, nursing care, and available technology including computer-assisted orthopedic surgery. 8

Procedural Milestones and Emerging Technologies

Corewell Health in Royal Oak, Michigan performed the world's first documented single-port robotic mitral valve repair in July 2026, with the procedure led by Rakesh M. Suri, M.D., Regional Director of Cardiac Surgery Robotics and Innovation. 9 The patient, Patrick O'Brien, 60, returned to normal activities in under a week. This advancement replaces the traditional five-port technique and further reduces tissue disruption for patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation. Washington Health in Fremont, California reached a milestone of 1,000 robotic-assisted knee replacements performed using the handheld TMINI Miniature Robotic System, with procedures carried out by orthopedic surgeon Alexander Sah, M.D., who was selected in 2024 as the first surgeon to perform this groundbreaking procedure. 10

Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, Kansas is currently the only hospital in the Topeka region offering the next-generation da Vinci 5, which features enhanced 3D high-definition vision, improved surgeon control with ergonomic consoles, real-time feedback systems, and integrated operating room technologies. 11 Similarly, Beacon Kalamazoo became the first hospital in its region to deploy the da Vinci 5 system, which introduces force feedback technology giving surgeons a measurable sense of the pressure applied to tissue during complex procedures. 12 UCSF Health was named to the U.S. News national Honor Roll for 2025-2026, a distinction earned by only 20 medical centers nationwide, with top-10 rankings in seven adult specialty areas. 13

Canadian Facilities and Cross-Border Context

North American robotic surgery leadership extends meaningfully into Canada. St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto has emerged as a notable center for minimally invasive and robotic cardiac procedures, led by Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri, a cardiac surgeon who performs robotic repairs through only four small entry points using the Schroeder BRAIN and HEART Centre's advanced technology suite. 14 North York General Hospital, identified as Canada's number one Community Academic Hospital, expanded its Robotic Assisted Surgery Program in April 2026 by acquiring the da Vinci Xi system for colorectal, gynecology, urology, and abdominal wall reconstructive surgeries, and added a second ROSA Knee System for robotic-guided knee replacements. 15

Survey data cited by North York General indicates that seven in ten patients express wariness about robotic surgery prior to receiving educational counseling, underscoring a patient-readiness gap that top-rated facilities actively address through outreach, demonstration programs, and clinical transparency. 15 Kaiser Permanente expanded outpatient robotic surgery capacity at its Franklin Medical Offices in Colorado in early 2026, adding general surgery, gynecology, urogynecology, and gynecological oncology to its outpatient robotic portfolio, building on existing robotic joint replacement programs at its Lone Tree surgical center. 16

Eligibility, Accreditation, and Patient Considerations

Not every patient qualifies for robotic-assisted surgery, and eligibility is determined by the treating surgeon based on clinical factors including the nature and stage of the condition, body composition, prior surgical history, and anesthesia risk profiles. Patients should verify that a prospective facility holds relevant accreditations from bodies such as the ACS Commission on Cancer, the Joint Commission, or specialty-specific designations from the NCI or disease-focused professional societies. 4 The FDA maintains a public database of robotic surgical systems cleared for specific indications in the U.S., which patients and clinicians can consult to confirm platform authorization status for a given procedure type. 2

Facilities that consistently rank highly tend to share common structural characteristics: surgeon teams with hundreds to thousands of documented robotic procedures, active fellowship and training programs, multi-platform technology fleets, and participation in clinical trials or investigational device studies. Mount Sinai Hospital in New York appeared on the U.S. News Honor Roll for the 10th consecutive year in 2025-2026, holding top-10 rankings in five specialties and being rated High Performing in all 22 procedures and conditions assessed, with additional recognition for its Health Equity Score. 17 Patients seeking referral guidance may also consult resources from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare tool, which publishes quality measure data that can be used to evaluate hospital performance characteristics relevant to surgical care outcomes. 18

Sources

1. Mega Doctor News - STHS Named Among America's Best for Minimally Invasive Surgery (megadoctornews.com)
2. Intuitive Surgical - da Vinci Surgical System Products and Services (intuitive.com)
3. U.S. News and World Report - Best Hospitals Rankings (health.usnews.com)
4. American College of Surgeons - Commission on Cancer Accreditation Program (facs.org)
5. Newsweek - The U.S. Continues to Lead in World's Top 250 Hospitals List (newsweek.com)
6. Cleveland Clinic Newsroom - Cleveland Clinic First Hospital in the U.S. To Perform Robotic-Assisted Prostate Surgery Using Newly FDA-Cleared System (newsroom.clevelandclinic.org)
7. BioSpace - NYU Langone Health Leads the Nation with Four No. 1-Ranked Specialties by U.S. News and World Report (biospace.com)
8. Business Wire - HSS Ranked No. 1 in Orthopedics by U.S. News and World Report for 16th Consecutive Year (businesswire.com)
9. Corewell Health Newsroom - Corewell Health performs world's first documented single-port robotic mitral valve repair (newsroom.corewellhealth.org)
10. Washington Health - Washington Health Sets World Record: 1,000 Robotic Knee Replacements Performed (washingtonhealth.com)
11. Stormont Vail Health - Robotics Program (stormontvail.org)
12. Beacon Health System - Beacon Kalamazoo offers next-generation robotic surgery with greater precision and control (beaconhealthsystem.org)
13. UCSF Health - UCSF Health Named Among Nation's Best for 2025-2026 (ucsf.edu)
14. The Globe and Mail - Smaller incisions, bigger impact: How St. Michael's Hospital is leading a cardiac surgery revolution (theglobeandmail.com)
15. North York General Hospital - With Seven in Ten Patients Wary of Robotic Surgery, North York General Expands Robotics Program (nygh.on.ca)
16. Kaiser Permanente - Expanding Outpatient Robotic Surgery in Colorado (about.kaiserpermanente.org)
17. News Medical - The Mount Sinai Hospital named among nation's top 20 for care excellence (news-medical.net)
18. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - Hospital Compare Quality Measures (medicare.gov)