Thoracic Surgery - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The thoracic surgery market size is expected to grow from USD 15.19 billion in 2025 to USD 16.37 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 24.72 billion by 2031 at 8.58% CAGR over 2026-2031. This report is Segmented by Product and Services (Surgical Instruments, and More), Procedure Type (Open, and More), Surgery Type (Lobectomy, and More), Medical Condition (Lung Cancer, and More), Patient Type (Inpatients, Outpatients), Surgical Approach (Minimally Invasive, and More), Surgical Scope, End User, and Geography (North America, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Global Thoracic Surgery Market Trends and Insights

Rising Thoracic Disease Burden

The thoracic surgery market is being supported by a disease mix that continues to generate demand across cancer care, emergency care, and complex hospital-based treatment. GLOBOCAN findings published in 2025 reported 2.48 million incident tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer cases and 1.82 million deaths in 2022, which keeps lung resection volumes central to the care pathway. The same study showed that male incident lung cancer cases are projected to rise from 1.6 million to 2.95 million by 2050, while female cases are projected to increase 83.3% over the same period. Esophageal cancer adds another layer of demand because 511,054 new cases and 445,391 deaths were recorded globally in 2022, and 75% of cases were concentrated in Asia. The thoracic surgery market also remains exposed to pneumothorax, empyema, and mediastinal disease, which keeps surgical workloads active beyond oncology alone. This combination means hospitals are not dealing with a single source of growth, but with several disease pathways that all require operating room time, instruments, imaging support, and trained teams.

Shift Toward Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery

The thoracic surgery market is moving further toward minimally invasive care because clinical practice is no longer centered only on open thoracotomy in large referral centers. A National Cancer Database analysis covering 301,123 oncologic lung resections showed that RATS exceeded VATS case volume in the United States by 2019, and by 2021 RATS represented 65.4% of all minimally invasive cases. That change matters because it shows surgeons are not only trying robotic tools, but are making them part of routine case selection in a major care market. Academic programs have moved faster than community centers, and metropolitan hospitals have moved faster than rural hospitals, which points to a diffusion pattern that can continue as pricing and training barriers ease. A 2026 multicenter cohort study from the ATS of Milan found that RATS delivered perioperative advantages over VATS in recovery and conversion outcomes, which strengthens adoption beyond flagship teaching hospitals. The thoracic surgery market is therefore shifting not only because the tools are newer, but because the clinical case for broader use has become harder for hospitals to ignore.

High Cost of Advanced Thoracic Systems

The thoracic surgery market still faces a major adoption ceiling because advanced robotic systems demand a capital outlay that many hospitals cannot absorb easily. Platform acquisition costs remain at USD 1.5-3 million per system, and annual maintenance plus consumables add another USD 150,000-300,000 to the operating burden. A 2024 review in the Annals of Esophagus found that robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy carried 9% higher direct surgical costs than non-robotic alternatives. The same review noted that outpatient robotic procedures were financially unfavorable under current reimbursement structures, which shows why smaller providers still struggle to justify platform ownership. This creates a two-speed pattern where high-volume academic hospitals move ahead, while lower-volume centers continue to rely on VATS or open surgery for cost reasons. The thoracic surgery market can widen only gradually under these conditions, unless pricing models, leasing arrangements, or shared platform access reduce the burden on mid-tier hospitals.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Adoption of Robotics and Image Guidance
• Expansion of Ambulatory Thoracic Care Pathways
• Shortage of Skilled Thoracic Surgeons

Segment Analysis

Product held 68.13% of revenue in 2025, which shows that the thoracic surgery market still draws most of its value from equipment, instruments, and procedural consumables rather than stand-alone service lines. Surgical instruments and accessories support this position because thoracic resections require repeated use of staplers, energy devices, graspers, and retraction tools across open and minimally invasive cases. Energy and stapling devices remain especially important because even a standard lobectomy can involve several sequential firing and sealing steps in one operation. Endoscopes and imaging systems are also moving higher in value as 4K visualization, fluorescence support, and image-led identification features become more integrated into operative planning and execution. In April 2025, Intuitive Surgical expanded this product-side logic through FDA clearance of the SP SureForm 45, a fully wristed stapler built for single-port robotic surgery.

Services are projected to grow at 8.78% CAGR through 2031, which makes this the fastest-moving side of the thoracic surgery market size within this segmentation. That pace reflects a steady shift toward preoperative planning, intraoperative navigation, postoperative monitoring, teleconsultation, and structured training support. Hospitals are showing more willingness to pay for services that reduce variation, shorten room turnover, and help surgeons adopt advanced workflows with fewer disruptions. Training is a notable part of that change because each new robotic indication creates a commercial need for credentialing, simulation, and procedural support before full-scale rollout. The thoracic surgery industry is therefore seeing service revenue move closer to the device sale, rather than sitting outside the commercial model. Over time, this makes recurring support income more important to vendors that once depended mainly on capital placement and disposable usage.

VATS held 49.21% of the thoracic surgery market share in 2025, which confirms that the thoracic surgery market still relies heavily on an established minimally invasive technique with a broad surgeon base. Its lead is supported by familiarity, a strong clinical evidence base, and compatibility with operating rooms that do not yet have advanced robotic capacity. Open surgery remains necessary in selected cases with dense adhesions, unstable anatomy, or urgent control requirements, while endoscopic thoracic surgery continues to support bronchoscopy-driven diagnosis and early lesion sampling. These patterns show that procedure choice still depends on case complexity, staffing, infrastructure, and budget rather than a single universal standard. Even so, the center of gravity in procedure planning has started to move.

RATS is forecast to grow at 10.42% CAGR through 2031, which makes it the strongest growth engine in this procedure mix. A National Cancer Database study showed that RATS overtook VATS in U.S. case count by 2019, and by 2021 it represented 65.4% of minimally invasive oncologic lung resections. A 2026 multicenter study from Milan also found perioperative advantages for RATS over VATS in recovery and conversion outcomes. The thoracic surgery market is reacting to this evidence because hospitals can now frame robotic expansion as both a clinical and economic decision, especially in complex resections. The thoracic surgery industry is therefore entering a period where VATS remains the volume base, but RATS shapes the higher-growth and higher-value direction of procedural spending.

Lobectomy held 61.16% of revenue in 2025, which gives it the leading position in this surgery mix and makes it a major anchor of the thoracic surgery market size. The segment stays dominant because lobar resection remains standard care for a large share of stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer. A 2024 study in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery found that VATS can deliver long-term survival outcomes comparable to RATS in lobectomy, which supports continued high procedural volume through established thoracoscopic pathways. Wedge resection and segmental resection remain important for earlier lesions and selective anatomical preservation, while pleurectomy stays relevant in pleural disease and recurrent pneumothorax. This means the largest surgery type is not only widespread, but also linked to clinical pathways that are already well embedded in hospital practice.

Pneumonectomy is projected to grow at 9.83% CAGR through 2031, even though absolute case volume remains lower than lobectomy and wedge procedures. Its growth rate reflects the fact that complex and locally advanced disease still presents in settings where lesser resections are not possible. A 2024 study reported that minimally invasive pneumonectomy reached 27% of institutional cases, including 19% by VATS and 8% by RATS, which shows that even highly complex resections are starting to shift into less invasive formats. Device use per case is also high because major vascular division and extensive stapling are common in these operations. The thoracic surgery market therefore receives a disproportionate revenue contribution from pneumonectomy relative to its volume because complexity raises both instrument intensity and platform value.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Product And Services
  • Product
    • Surgical Instruments and Accessories
    • Endoscopes and Imaging Systems
    • Energy and Stapling Devices
    • Robotic Platforms
  • Services
    • Preoperative Planning Services
    • Intraoperative Navigation Services
    • Postoperative Monitoring And Follow-Up Services
    • Teleconsultation Services
    • Surgical Training And Support Services
• By Procedure Type
  • Open Thoracic Surgery
  • Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery
  • Robotic-Assisted Thoracic Surgery
  • Endoscopic Thoracic Surgery
  • Other Thoracic Procedures
• By Surgery Type
  • Lobectomy
  • Wedge Resection
  • Pneumonectomy
  • Pleurectomy
  • Segmental Resection
  • Other Surgery Types
• By Medical Condition
  • Lung Cancer
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Mediastinal Tumors
  • Pneumothorax
  • Empyema
  • Other Thoracic Conditions
• By Patient Type
  • Inpatients
  • Outpatients
• By Surgical Approach
  • Minimally Invasive Approach
  • Standard Open Approach
• By Surgical Scope
  • Diagnostic
  • Therapeutic
  • Emergency
• By End User
  • Hospitals
  • Ambulatory Surgical Centers/Outpatient Centre
  • Specialty Clinics
  • Other End Users
• By Geography
  • North America
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • United Kingdom
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia-Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • India
    • Australia
    • South Korea
    • Rest of Asia-Pacific
  • Middle East & Africa
    • GCC
    • South Africa
    • Rest of Middle East & Africa
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Rest of South America

Geography Analysis

North America held 39.03% of the thoracic surgery market share in 2025, which kept it as the largest regional contributor by revenue. The region benefits from mature reimbursement systems, a dense concentration of academic thoracic centers, and broad access to robotic and thoracoscopic infrastructure. It is also further along in linking diagnosis, surgery, and postoperative pathway management into structured care models for lung and esophageal disease. This means regional growth is being shaped more by procedural upgrading and care setting shifts than by a simple rise in disease incidence. The thoracic surgery market in North America remains important because new technologies tend to reach commercial scale here earlier than in most other regions.

Europe remained the second-largest regional block, led by Germany, the United Kingdom, and France in the user-supplied draft. Germany has continued to expand robotic thoracic activity, and the University Hospital of Heidelberg initiated robotic-assisted bronchoscopy in March 2025 as part of preparation for national lung cancer screening. A 2026 study based on France's PMSI administrative database found a 15.6% year-over-year rise in robotic hospital stays between 2021 and 2022, with thoracic surgery accounting for 7% of all robotic procedures nationally. Regulatory compliance under EU MDR 2017/745 continues to favor companies that already have strong certification capacity and post-market support structures. The thoracic surgery market in Europe, therefore, combines healthy technology adoption with a regulatory environment that can slow smaller entrants.

Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at 8.92% CAGR through 2031, giving it the fastest regional expansion in the thoracic surgery market size. China is a major driver because surgical robot procurement reached CNY 691 million in Q1 2025, equal to USD 95 million, after a 43% year-over-year increase in the user-supplied draft. Domestic manufacturers are widening access by pricing systems at 50-70% of imported alternatives, which supports adoption beyond top-tier city hospitals in the user-supplied draft. India is opening more room for cancer surgery volumes through broader health coverage in the user-supplied draft, while Japan has expanded reimbursement support for robotic-assisted lobectomy in the user-supplied draft. South America, the Middle East, and Africa remain smaller markets, but private hospital groups in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are using thoracic robotics as a differentiation tool, while workforce shortages across parts of Africa continue to limit addressable volume.

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• Product Manufacturer
• Service Provider

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support