Orthopaedic surgeon Craig R. Mahoney, MD, has been named a 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctor, marking the 13th year he has received this prestigious designation. Only 7 percent of the nation's licensed physicians are chosen annually as Castle Connolly Top Doctors for their specialties in their regions. Dr. Mahoney is an orthopaedic surgeon with Iowa Ortho, a practice recognized for advancing joint replacement care and improving patient outcomes through clinical excellence and healthcare innovation.
Dr. Mahoney serves as the Physician Leader and Vice President of the Orthopaedic Service Line at MercyOne and is a partner at the Iowa Orthopaedic Center. With over 23 years of practice and more than 8,000 successful hip and knee replacements, his philosophy emphasizes exhaustive nonsurgical options before recommending joint replacement surgery. His goals include improving mobility, decreasing pain, and enhancing each patient's quality of life through evidence-based techniques that prioritize long-term outcomes.
Dr. Mahoney performs several key procedures utilizing advanced surgical techniques, including total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, hip and knee revision surgery, computer-navigated joint replacement, impaction grafting, and vascular management in rotationplasty. He earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1995, completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Creighton/University of Nebraska Health Foundation in 2001, and a fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York in 2002.
His professional accomplishments include authoring more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in publications such as The Journal of Arthroplasty and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Dr. Mahoney has held significant leadership roles, including President of the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association and the Iowa Orthopaedic Society. He also served on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board of Councilors for six years.
Top Doctors are nominated by peer physicians and selected by the physician-led Castle Connolly research team. Castle Connolly publishes its Top Doctors list at castleconnolly.com and in various print and online partner publications. Nominations are open to all board-certified MDs, DOs, and DPMs, and honorees are chosen based on criteria including medical education, training, hospital appointments, and disciplinary histories. Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor.
