Orthopedic surgeons and the leaders behind orthopedic implant and robotics companies have seen overall gains in compensation.
Here are seven breakdowns of both orthopedic surgeon and medtech CEO pay to know:
1. Orthopedic surgeons saw the highest average compensation of all specialties surveyed with $611,000, according to Medscape’s 2026 Physician Compensation Report.
2. Average orthopedic pay has increased since 2022, according to annual Medscape reports. In 2025 the average pay was $564,000, and in 2024 that figure was $558,000.
3. In 2025 the highest-paid medtech CEOs included Joaquin Duato, CEO at Johnson & Johnson ($32.7 million) and Kevin Lobo, CEO at Stryker ($21.4 million). Other leading CEOs had compensation in the single-digit millions.
4. Stryker’s CEO saw a small dip in pay from $21.9 million in 2024 to $21.4 million in 2025. Meanwhile Ivan Tornos saw his 2025 pay increase from $15 million in 2024 to $16.1 million in 2025.
5. Orthopedic pay saw one of the higher increases year over year at 8%. The average physician compensation for all specialties rose on average 3%.
6. Compensation packages for medtech CEOs generally includes include salary, stock and option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation and other forms of pay.
7. Overall in the U.S. healthcare sector, CEOs earned an average annual salary of $231,870 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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