Medtronic received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use LigaSure technology for vessel sealing with its Hugo soft-tissue robotic surgery system. The decision, which the company disclosed in September 2026, brings a tool widely used in open and laparoscopic surgeries into the robotic workflow in the United States.
According to Medtronic, LigaSure technology is used in more than 45 million procedures worldwide. The clearance covers the LigaSure RAS Maryland tool designed to work with the Hugo platform, after the company disclosed in June that it had submitted a 510(k) application seeking authorization for its use with the system.
What changes in practice?
The decision gives U.S. surgeons the ability to use a vessel-sealing technology they know from open and laparoscopic operations in procedures performed with the assistance of Hugo. Medtronic believes this integration addresses a need among surgeons who expect the same energy tools to be available when moving to the robotic approach, rather than having to change familiar tools simply to use a robotic platform.
Matthew Kroh, Medtronic’s chief medical officer for its surgical business, said vessel sealing is a central part of the most demanding stages of surgery, and that making LigaSure available with Hugo in the United States brings to robotic procedures the level of confidence and control surgeons have come to expect in open and laparoscopic surgeries.
A step in the robotic surgery competition
Medtronic is targeting a market dominated by Intuitive and is betting on combining the Hugo platform with energy tools physicians already use in nonrobotic surgeries. The LigaSure application was part of a group of applications that the company said were intended to expand the range of tools authorized for use with Hugo and increase the platform’s number of medical applications.
The U.S. clearance does not mark the global beginning of robotic LigaSure technology; Medtronic received a CE mark for the technology in July 2025. The company also said that the Hugo system has positively affected the lives of tens of thousands of patients across more than 35 countries outside the United States.
Why does this news matter?
The decision’s primary significance lies not merely in adding a single tool, but in expanding what Hugo can perform using a tool that already has a presence in operating rooms. This could help Medtronic narrow the practical gap between using the robotic platform and using traditional tools familiar to surgeons, a factor that could influence decisions to adopt the systems or expand their use.
On the fiscal first-quarter earnings call, CEO Geoff Martha said the company expects Hugo to surpass 50,000 completed procedures during the current fiscal year, which ends in late April. However, the source provides no data on the number of facilities that will adopt the new tool, the clearance’s impact on clinical outcomes, or the pace of its commercial expansion. Therefore, the decision remains an indicator of expanded platform capabilities in the United States, rather than evidence in itself of a shift in the balance of the robotic surgery market.