Surgery Physician providers in the U.S.
34,063 NPPES records list surgery physician as their primary taxonomy, about 10 per 100,000 residents; District of Columbia and North Dakota have the most per resident. 20,115 of them appear in the Medicare Part D prescriber file: a registry record is not proof of an active practice.
What taxonomy code 208600000X means
208600000X is the National Uniform Claim Committee code for Surgery, in the grouping Allopathic & Osteopathic Physicians. 34,063 NPPES records list it as their primary taxonomy (file of Aug 9, 2026).
A general surgeon has expertise related to the diagnosis - preoperative, operative and postoperative management - and management of complications of surgical conditions in the following areas: alimentary tract; abdomen; breast, skin and soft tissue; endocrine system; head and neck surgery; pediatric surgery; surgical critical care; surgical oncology; trauma and burns; and vascular surgery. General surgeons increasingly provide care through the use of minimally invasive and endoscopic techniques. Many general surgeons also possess expertise in transplantation surgery, plastic surgery and cardiothoracic surgery.
Source: NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, definition as NUCC publishes it (nucc.org); counts from CMS NPPES.
Most per resident: the 8 highest
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 208600000X by practice state, file of Aug 9, 2026; records per 100,000 residents, 2023 Census estimates.
Chicago has the most, 547
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 208600000X by practice city, file of Aug 9, 2026.
All 51 by state
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 445 | 9 |
| Alaska | 98 | 13 |
| Arizona | 760 | 10 |
| Arkansas | 284 | 9 |
| California | 3,118 | 8 |
| Colorado | 608 | 10 |
| Connecticut | 360 | 10 |
| Delaware | 109 | 11 |
| District of Columbia | 158 | 23 |
| Florida | 1,887 | 8 |
| Georgia | 991 | 9 |
| Hawaii | 145 | 10 |
| Idaho | 179 | 9 |
| Illinois | 1,520 | 12 |
| Indiana | 612 | 9 |
| Iowa | 437 | 14 |
| Kansas | 349 | 12 |
| Kentucky | 459 | 10 |
| Louisiana | 432 | 9 |
| Maine | 229 | 16 |
| Maryland | 672 | 11 |
| Massachusetts | 1,003 | 14 |
| Michigan | 1,376 | 14 |
| Minnesota | 742 | 13 |
| Mississippi | 257 | 9 |
| Missouri | 714 | 12 |
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | 136 | 12 |
| Nebraska | 231 | 12 |
| Nevada | 236 | 7 |
| New Hampshire | 196 | 14 |
| New Jersey | 737 | 8 |
| New Mexico | 236 | 11 |
| New York | 2,053 | 11 |
| North Carolina | 1,170 | 11 |
| North Dakota | 142 | 18 |
| Ohio | 1,249 | 11 |
| Oklahoma | 348 | 9 |
| Oregon | 524 | 12 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,867 | 14 |
| Rhode Island | 151 | 14 |
| South Carolina | 647 | 12 |
| South Dakota | 114 | 12 |
| Tennessee | 631 | 9 |
| Texas | 2,192 | 7 |
| Utah | 259 | 8 |
| Vermont | 79 | 12 |
| Virginia | 865 | 10 |
| Washington | 791 | 10 |
| West Virginia | 205 | 12 |
| Wisconsin | 726 | 12 |
| Wyoming | 73 | 13 |
In federal data
- NUCC code208600000X · Surgery
- Size rank47th of 688 specialties by records (0.46% of all)
- In its family1st of 9 Surgery codes, 68.3% of the family
- Part D prescribers20,115 (59.1% of records)
- Part D claims147 a year per prescriber, on average (313th of 496)
- Industry payments17,103 physicians paid $60.1M in 2024, $4K each on average
- Concentration10 states hold half of all records
Source: CMS NPPES; Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Presence in these files is not a quality judgment.
A sample of surgery physician records
- Elmer Gibbs, M.D.Crossville, TN1841293891
- David Gelber, MDPasadena, TX1760485700
- Glen Garner, MDHouston, TX1558364588
- Melvin Medlock, MDLumberton, NC1467455493
- Armando Sciullo, DOGrove City, PA1144223173
- John Leone, M.D.Tampa, FL1457354490
- Susan Behen, M.D.Baltimore, MD1083617021
- Scott Steinmetz, M.D.Bel Air, MD1780687996
- Muhammad Yasin, MDSaint Louis, MO1205839404
- Elie Fraiji, M.D.Bel Air, MD1669475869
- Keith Falcao, M.D.Columbia, MD1154324333
- James Mayes, M.D.Arlington, VA1497758668
- Joseph Dodd, M.D.Nevada, MO1053314195
- Bradley MudgeNewark, DE1205839321
- Dexter Turnquest, M.D.Houston, TX1720081938
- Morin Hanson, M.D.Saint Louis, MO1083617294
Registry order, not a ranking. Search by name to find one provider.
Common questions
Where does the large Surgery Physician headcount concentrate?
34,063 Surgery Physician NPIs span 56 states; California alone holds 3,118. Top metros include Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; New York, NY. Nationally this is 47th of 688 NUCC codes.
How large is Surgery Physician's Open Payments footprint?
CMS Open Payments 2024 lists 17,103 Surgery Physician physicians totaling $60.1M (159,534 payments; average $4K, 121st of 470). Presence in Open Payments is not a quality judgment.
How heavy is Surgery Physician Part D prescribing at scale?
Among Surgery Physician NPIs, 20,115 appear in the Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF (average 147 claims and $11K drug cost per prescriber; 313th of 496 specialties by average claims). Non-prescribing clinicians in the same NUCC code are still in NPPES.
Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), file of Aug 9, 2026 (NPPES files on CMS.gov); NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (nucc.org); Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Counts are self-designated primary taxonomy, not board certification.
Figures on PlainDoctor are read from the federal files each page names (CMS NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments; the HHS-OIG exclusion list only as counts) and from Census population estimates, with the file date shown beside them. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of Aug 9, 2026.