ISSSTE Sets Goal to Perform 10% More Surgeries in 2026

The ISSSTE set a goal to increase surgical volume 10% in 2026 over the prior year, relying on surgical campaigns and a program to renovate 80 operating rooms, of which more than 60 are complete. The institute reported 308,579 surgeries in 2025, meaning the 2026 target likely approaches 339,400 procedures, though ISSSTE has not confirmed this figure. The initiative affects Mexico's public healthcare sector, medical device suppliers, and federal government employees, and coincides with a MX$298 million ISSSTE infrastructure investment and a broader IMSS-ISSSTE hospital modernization program targeting 256 operating rooms nationwide.   

The Institute for Social Security and Social Services for Government Employees (ISSSTE) set a goal to increase its surgical volume 10% in 2026 compared to the previous year, relying on two main strategies: surgical marathons known as surgical campaigns and a nationwide program to renovate operating rooms. Martí Batres , General Director, ISSSTE, presented the goal during a federal briefing, reporting more than 1,700 high-specialty procedures completed through these marathons so far in 2026 and the rehabilitation of over 60 operating rooms.

Batres described the surgical campaigns model as a concentration of surgeons and surgical teams in a single medical unit, paired with an outreach effort to convene patients awaiting specific procedures, including cataract, orthopedic, urological, and general surgery cases. According to Batres, the approach targets accumulated surgical backlogs in states where ISSSTE has identified delays, drawing on specialist teams to complete a high volume of cases within a concentrated period.

The 10% target follows a year in which ISSSTE exceeded its own surgical goals. According to a federal press briefing in January 2026, the institute performed 308,579 surgeries in 2025, surpassing a 300,000-procedure target and marking a 10.5% increase over the 279,130 surgeries completed in 2024. ISSSTE has not published a reference figure for 2026, so the exact number of procedures needed to meet the new goal cannot be confirmed from the information released. Using the 308,579 surgeries reported for 2025 as a baseline, a 10% increase would place ISSSTE's 2026 target near 339,400 procedures, though this remains an estimate rather than an official figure.

The surgical growth target sits within a broader capital investment cycle at ISSSTE. The institute recently completed a MX$298 million (US$16.2 million) investment in hospital infrastructure, combining the acquisition of 2,275 electric hospital beds with a MX$93 million renovation of three operating rooms at Hospital Constitución Clinic in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. That renovation equipped the rebuilt rooms with 85 medical devices, including anesthesia units, surgical tables, and advanced electrosurgery equipment, part of a wider effort in which 256 operating rooms across ISSSTE, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), and IMSS-Bienestar are being modernized to reach full operational capacity by 2026.

The operating room program cited in the latest announcement calls for intervening 80 spaces nationwide through renovation, reconstruction, or new construction, depending on the needs identified at each unit. Batres said more than 60 operating rooms have already been recovered since the program began, leaving approximately 20 pending completion. ISSSTE did not specify the location of the remaining spaces, the budget allocated to the outstanding work, or the expected completion dates in the information released.

The surgical expansion also coincides with parallel investments in ISSSTE's broader service network. The institute grew its community-managed clinic improvement program, "The Clinic Is Ours," from 562 to 633 medical units in 2026, channeling  MX$369.12 million (US$20 million) directly to clinic-level purchasing decisions. Together, the announcements point to an institution pursuing simultaneous gains in surgical throughput, facility upgrades, and clinic-level resource allocation, rather than treating any single initiative in isolation.