Surgery Hero
Surgery Hero is a UK digital health company offering a mobile platform that pairs patients awaiting surgery with dedicated health coaches, personalised prehabilitation programmes, and peer support communities. It sells on a B2B2C basis to NHS trusts, employers, and health plans to reduce surgical complications, length of stay, and recovery times.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersWood Ridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Surgery Hero does
Surgery Hero is a UK-based digital health company that operates a mobile platform (iOS and Android) delivering personalised prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes to patients preparing for and recovering from surgery. The platform pairs each member with a dedicated human health coach and combines evidence-based content (exercise, mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, alcohol moderation), goal-setting and tracking, health metrics monitoring, moderated peer support groups (Surgery Hero Groups), and live group learning sessions into a 12-week perioperative journey running from the decision-to-operate through post-operative recovery. Clinical credibility is anchored by a BMJ Open Quality publication with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust (median length of stay reduced from 3 to 2 days, £273 estimated cost-saving per patient, 9.3/10 satisfaction) and a £700,000 NIHR-funded three-year RCT for hip and knee replacement outcomes (results expected Q3 2027). The platform is ISO 27001 certified and HIPAA-compliant.
Surgery Hero generates revenue exclusively on a B2B2C subscription basis through three buyer segments: NHS Integrated Care Systems and Trusts (commissioning to reduce elective backlogs and length of stay), self-insured employers and HR/benefits buyers (sold directly and via HR service partners such as HR Service Partners and wellness consultancies such as Luminate to reduce surgical absenteeism and claims costs), and health plans/insurers (embedding the platform in member benefits). Individual patients access the service free of charge via referral from these institutional payers. The company was founded in May 2020 as Sapien Health, rebranded to Surgery Hero in 2023, and was acquired by Sword Health in January 2025, at which point 18 NHS trusts had deployed the platform.
Surgery Hero firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Surgery Hero
- Legal name
- Surgery Hero Ltd
- Website
- https://surgeryhero.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Surgery Hero is a UK digital health company offering a mobile platform that pairs patients awaiting surgery with dedicated health coaches, personalised prehabilitation programmes, and peer support communities. It sells on a B2B2C basis to NHS trusts, employers, and health plans to reduce surgical complications, length of stay, and recovery times.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Surgery Hero industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Prehabilitation Services
- NAICS
- Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (621340)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Surgical, Perioperative & ERAS Pathway Tools (HLACAGAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Virtual PT/OT/MSK & Rehab Programs (Payer-Sponsored) (HLALACAI)
Keywords
Where Surgery Hero is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wood Ridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Surgery Hero business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- B2B2C — NHS & Healthcare System Contracts: Surgery Hero generates revenue by contracting directly with NHS Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), NHS Trusts, and public healthcare commissioners. NHS trusts and ICBs pay for the digital prehabilitation service to improve surgical outcomes, reduce length of stay, and clear elective backlogs. The company has published evidence showing £273 estimated cost-saving per patient through reduced length of stay.
- Employer & Health Plan Contracts: Surgery Hero is sold to employers (via HR departments, benefits consultants, and HR Service Partners/PEOs) and health insurers as an employee benefit or health plan addition. Employers pay to provide surgical preparation and recovery support to their workforce, reducing absenteeism, presenteeism, and surgical claims costs.
- Patient/Individual Access (Subsidised): Individual patients and employees access the Surgery Hero programme free of charge, funded by hospital systems, employers, and insurers. This B2B2C model subsidises individual access.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Surgery Hero product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Surgery Hero operates a digital clinic for surgery that supports patients through the full perioperative journey, from decision-to-operate through recovery at home. Its platform combines personalised prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes, dedicated 1-on-1 human health coaching, on-demand educational content, peer support communities, and health metrics tracking, delivered via a mobile app. The company contracts with NHS Trusts, employers, and health insurers who fund patient access (B2B2C).
Product overview
Surgery Hero operates as a unified digital health platform offering prehabilitation and rehabilitation support for surgical patients. The core product is the Surgery Hero platform, which consists of a mobile app (available for iOS and Android) providing personalized programs, 1-on-1 health coaching, and on-demand educational content. Key features include Surgery Hero Groups (peer support communities), a Goal Setting & Tracking feature, and Group Learning Sessions. Previously known as Sapien Health or Sapien, the company rebranded to Surgery Hero. The platform was acquired by Sword Health in January 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Surgery Hero Digital Clinic A digital clinic for surgery that supports patients to prepare for and recover from surgery at home with personalised programmes, expert health coaches, peer support communities, and evidence-based resources. Sold to NHS Trusts/ICBs, employers, and health plans who fund patient access under a B2B2C model.
- Surgery Hero Mobile App Patient-facing mobile application available on iOS and Android that delivers personalised prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes, 1-on-1 health coaching, on-demand educational content, peer support groups, and health metrics tracking for adults preparing for or recovering from surgery.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduction in median length of stay from 3 to 2 days following hip/knee arthroplasty
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Surgery Hero
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Surgery Hero technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Surgery Hero partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sword HealthcoreSword Health, a global AI-powered healthcare company valued at $3 billion, acquired Surgery Hero in January 2025. The acquisition was designed to expand Sword Health's UK presence and integrate Surgery Hero's prehabilitation expertise into Sword's existing platform. Surgery Hero's product and team were fully integrated into Sword Health, enabling combined support from pre-surgery preparation through recovery. Surgery Hero had been deployed across 18 NHS trusts in the UK prior to acquisition.
- LuminateminorSurgery Hero collaborated with Luminate, a mental health consultancy, on an article exploring stress management techniques and return-to-work strategies post-surgery. The collaboration combined Surgery Hero's surgical expertise with Luminate's mental health and workplace wellbeing specialisation.
- South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustcoreSurgery Hero partnered with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust on a digital prehabilitation quality improvement project led by Professor Gerard Danjoux. Results published in BMJ Open Quality showed reduction in median length of stay from 3 to 2 days, £273 cost-saving per patient, and 9.3/10 patient satisfaction. The partnership extended to the 'Waiting Well South Tees' programme.
- Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT)coreBHRUT launched the world's first digital surgery clinic in partnership with Surgery Hero (then Sapien Health), offering 700 surgery patients access to a bespoke digital prehabilitation platform. The partnership aimed to reduce on-the-day cancellations (a third of which are due to patients not being clinically ready), prevent complications, and accelerate post-operative recovery.
- One Wirral CICminorSurgery Hero partnered with One Wirral CIC to deliver the Diabetes Prehabilitation Programme, supporting people living with Type 2 diabetes who are awaiting surgery. The programme combines Surgery Hero's health coaching with One Wirral's diabetes expertise to improve pre-surgical health outcomes for diabetic patients.
- HR Service PartnerscoreHR Service Partners, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) headquartered in San Antonio, partnered with Surgery Hero to offer comprehensive surgical preparation and recovery support as part of their employee wellbeing suite. HR Service Partners distributes Surgery Hero to its employer client base, addressing the significant surgical-related costs that account for over 30% of employer healthcare spending.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Surgery Hero competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sword Health: Sword Health is Surgery Hero's parent company and a global AI-powered digital MSK and prehab platform. It is the most directly comparable company: same digital prehab/rehab category, overlapping enterprise buyer base (employers and health plans), and now operates Surgery Hero inside its product suite.
- Hinge Health: Hinge Health is a leading digital MSK platform that explicitly includes surgery preparation and recovery programmes alongside PT. It directly competes for employer, health plan, and payer dollars in the same digital MSK/prehab category.
- Force Therapeutics (Zimmer Biomet): Force Therapeutics was a direct digital surgical care journey platform for orthopaedic and other procedures; it was acquired by Zimmer Biomet and integrated into its MyMobility offering. Highly comparable in product (perioperative digital pathway) and target audience (joint replacement patients).
- RecoveryOne: RecoveryOne provides digital physical therapy including post-surgical rehabilitation programmes delivered virtually. It competes in the same payer/employer channel and addresses a comparable clinical use case (surgical rehab at home).
- SeamlessMD: SeamlessMD provides digital care journeys for surgery patients across pre-op and post-op, with strong health system and orthopaedic focus. It is a close functional peer to Surgery Hero in delivering personalised digital pathways across the perioperative continuum.
Emerging players
- Kaia Health: Kaia Health is a digital therapeutics company focused on MSK and chronic pain, with employer/payer distribution. It overlaps with Surgery Hero's MSK and rehab orientation and competes for similar employer benefits budgets.
- Wellbe: Wellbe offers a patient navigation and care journey platform for surgical episodes, including pre-op education and post-op follow-up. It is comparable to Surgery Hero in addressing the full perioperative pathway and selling into health systems.
- Physitrack: Physitrack provides a digital exercise prescription and remote patient monitoring platform widely used by physical therapists, including post-surgical rehab. It overlaps with the exercise prescription and patient engagement layers of Surgery Hero's product.
Broad incumbents
- Omada Health: Omada Health is a broad digital chronic care platform (diabetes, hypertension, MSK) sold to employers and payers. While not surgically focused, it competes for the same enterprise benefits budget and offers adjacent digital health coaching capabilities.
- DarioHealth: DarioHealth is a digital therapeutics company spanning multiple chronic conditions, with employer and health plan distribution. It is a broad incumbent in the digital health coaching space and a relevant peer for buyer-side comparisons.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Surgery Hero social profiles
Digital presenceSurgery Hero compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Surgery Hero financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Surgery Hero leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Surgery Hero funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Surgery Hero M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Surgery Hero
What does Surgery Hero do?
Surgery Hero operates a digital clinic for surgery that supports patients through the full perioperative journey, from decision-to-operate through recovery at home. Its platform combines personalised prehabilitation and rehabilitation programmes, dedicated 1-on-1 human health coaching, on-demand educational content, peer support communities, and health metrics tracking, delivered via a mobile app. The company contracts with NHS Trusts, employers, and health insurers who fund patient access (B2B2C).
Is Surgery Hero a public or private company?
Surgery Hero is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Surgery Hero founded?
Surgery Hero was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Surgery Hero based?
Surgery Hero is headquartered in Wood Ridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Surgery Hero make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. B2B2C — NHS & Healthcare System Contracts are the primary driver. The others are employer & Health Plan Contracts and patient/Individual Access (Subsidised).
Who are Surgery Hero's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sword Health, Hinge Health, Force Therapeutics (Zimmer Biomet), RecoveryOne and SeamlessMD. Emerging players are Kaia Health, Wellbe and Physitrack. Broad incumbents are Omada Health and DarioHealth.
Does Surgery Hero have an API?
No public API is recorded for Surgery Hero.
What industry is Surgery Hero in?
Surgery Hero's product category is Digital Prehabilitation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAGAJ, Surgical, Perioperative & ERAS Pathway Tools, with a secondary code of HLALACAI, Virtual PT/OT/MSK & Rehab Programs (Payer-Sponsored). Its NAICS code is 621340 and its SIC code is 8000.