Choosing a doctor is only part of a medical procedure. Where that doctor or surgeon (literally) operates matters just as much: the hospital’s track record, its specialized teams, its post-op care—and yet most of us don’t know how important picking that the building really can be. This guide aims to close that gap.
Working with Castle Connolly, the veteran research firm that’s spent more than three decades vetting Top Doctors nationwide, we’re presenting a data-driven look at which Greater Boston hospitals excel at which procedures. The rankings draw on medical insurance claims data spanning multiple commercial and public payors, tracking real patient outcomes—mortality rates, complication rates, safety records, recovery times—from before a procedure through discharge and beyond. Castle Connolly layers in its own physician nomination data too, accounting for the doctors who make each hospital’s specialty program what it is.
The result is a practical map of the region’s medical landscape, organized by specialty and by procedure, from cardiac surgery to hip replacements to mastectomies. Whether you’re facing a scheduled operation or just want to know your options before you need them, consider this your starting point for figuring out not just who should operate, but where.
COLON SURGERY
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Boston Medical Center-Brighton
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Emerson Health Hospital
Emerson Health
Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Lowell General Hospital
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Mount Auburn Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Winchester Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT (CABG)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Boston
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center Health System
HEART VALVE REPLACEMENT
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center Health System
HERNIA REPAIR
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Lahey Clinic
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Lowell General Hospital
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Mount Auburn Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Winchester Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
HIP REPLACEMENT
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beverly Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
New England Baptist Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
HYSTERECTOMY
Lahey Clinic
Beth Israel Lahey Health
KNEE REPLACEMENT
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Boston Medical Center-Brighton
Boston Medical Center Corporation
New England Baptist Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
LIVER CANCER SURGERY
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
LUNG CANCER SURGERY
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Boston
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Lahey Clinic
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center Health System
MASTECTOMY
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Beverly Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Boston Medical Center-South
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Emerson Health Hospital
Emerson Health
Lahey Clinic
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Lowell General Hospital
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Mount Auburn Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center Health System
Winchester Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
PANCREATIC CANCER SURGERY
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
PROSTATE SURGERY
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Boston
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital
Mass General Brigham (FKA Partners HealthCare)
SPINE SURGERY
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Boston Medical Center-Brighton
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Lowell General Hospital
Tufts Medical Center Health System
New England Baptist Hospital
Beth Israel Lahey Health
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center Health System
METHODOLOGY
With more than 30 years of experience researching, reviewing, and selecting Top Doctors, Castle Connolly is a trusted and credible healthcare research and information company. Its mission is to help people find the best healthcare by connecting patients with best-in-class doctors and institutions.
Recognizing that a patient’s choice of hospital is equally as important as their choice of doctor, Castle Connolly Top Hospitals aims to provide a reliable, data-driven resource for identifying the best hospitals for various medical procedures. The resulting lists of Top Hospitals focus on the best options chosen by Castle Connolly for patients preparing for a medical procedure, whether they are looking within their own community or across the country for care.
Castle Connolly uses data that is derived from medical insurance claims data, including data from multiple payors (commercial and public insurance providers), as well as other diverse sources. Its data source also applies a proprietary analysis to provide a full picture of the patient journey, before and after a procedure and across the healthcare system. Using this data, hospitals are assessed for each medical procedure, analyzing the patient outcome performance metrics, including mortality and complication rates, patient safety, and recovery and discharge rates.
In addition to the patient outcome components of the methodology, Castle Connolly also incorporates Castle Connolly Top Doctors and physician nomination data sources to reflect both the impact of high-quality providers at each hospital, as well as the experience and expertise of doctors when it comes to selecting a hospital.
Castle Connolly is part of Everyday Health Group, a recognized leader in patient and provider education, attracting an engaged audience of more than 60 million health consumers and more than 890,000 U.S. practicing physicians and clinicians to its premier health and wellness digital properties. Everyday Health Group’s mission is to drive better clinical and health outcomes through decision-making informed by highly relevant information, data, and analytics. The company empowers healthcare providers and consumers with trusted content and services delivered through Everyday Health Group’s world-class brands.
For more information, please visit castleconnolly.com.
This directory first appeared in the print edition of the August 2026 issue.
