Are you looking for a stock poised to outperform for years? Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation that fits that bill.

If you haven't heard about Intuitive Surgical and its da Vinci robotic surgery systems, don't be surprised. There are only 324 of these robots in the world. But the business is booming. Sales skyrocketed 72% last quarter over the comparable year-ago quarter, beating the pants off the high end of analyst estimates by a solid 20%.

As you might expect, net income was a blowout number, too -- increasing 2.4 times over last year, almost double the $0.29 that analysts expected.

So what's causing this explosive growth? It's simple. Intuitive Surgical's systems simplify existing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures, making them quicker and easier. They make difficult MIS procedures more routine (so more doctors can perform them), allowing more procedures to use the MIS approach. From a hospital standpoint, Intuitive's systems maximize MIS opportunities.

For patients, the systems offer the benefits typical of MIS: reduced body trauma, reduced blood loss, less post-operative pain and discomfort, less risk of infection, a shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, and less scarring. Personally, I'd want that list of benefits any time surgery is required.

What brought Intuitive Surgery to mind today was a USA Today article about the skyrocketing number of people undergoing weight loss surgeries. The article mentions that MIS surgery is safer when "the surgeons are well-trained in the technique and the hospital is one that performs many of these procedures." As the more or less uncontested leader in this sphere, and as a company making considerable strides toward making MIS a method with mass applications, it's a pretty surefire bet that Intuitive will experience continued strength.

This well-positioned company, as you would expect, is not bargain-priced. At 76.8 times trailing earnings, it's downright expensive, if analysts are correct, and the company will only grow earnings by 25% annually for the next five years. But the Rule Breakers newsletter team sees faster growth fueled by new FDA procedure approvals and new business lines.

You can buy other companies like Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) that offer excellent surgical products. But these diversified companies won't grow earnings anywhere close to Intuitive Surgery's rate, or offer a pure play in the developing field that this company currently dominates. That superior market position explains why the stock has risen 164.8% (while the S&P 500 has limped ahead 6.1%) since its original Rule Breaker recommendation in April 2005.

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Fool contributor W.D. Crotty own shares in Boston Scientific (boring!). Click here to see the Motley Fool's disclosure policy.