The United States maintains its position as the biggest market for surgical equipment, contributing $1.7 billion (36%) towards the global market in 2009. The growth of the U.S. market is forecast at a CAGR of 5%, reaching $2.4 billion by 2016; however the contribution of the US towards the global market is expected to decline to 32% by 2016, due to diverse factors such as higher surgical equipment market growth in Japan, Europe, and emerging economies, healthcare reforms, and declining reimbursement levels in the U.S.

The growth of the global market for surgical equipment is expected to be driven by strong economic growth forecasts in emerging economies such as China and India, leading to increased investments in healthcare infrastructure, growing demand for outpatient surgeries, technological advances in surgical equipment, an increasing preference for minimally invasive surgeries, and an aging population.

Ethicon (Somerville, NJ, USA), with a 35% market share, is the leading manufacturer in the global surgical equipment market. This market dominance can be attributed to its major presence in the surgical sutures market, which is the largest category in the surgical equipment market, and the wide range of surgical equipment the company offers to its clients (including hospitals, clinics, and outpatient centers). In addition, Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ, USA), the parent company of Ethicon, exerts a great deal of influence on Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs), especially in the U.S.

The report also provides market trends information on three surgical equipment market categories: electrosurgical devices, hand instruments, and surgical sutures--with that last currently contributing 56% toward the global surgical equipment market and forecast to increase to 59% by 2016. The surgical sutures market was valued at $2.65 billion in 2009, and it is seen to grow at a CAGR of 7% to reach $4.3 billion by 2016, driven by an increasing number of surgical procedures and technological advances in surgical sutures. In 2009, about 100 million surgical incisions were performed, and around 80 million wounds use some form of closure product such as sutures.

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