CPT code 15734: Trunk flap, muscle, skin, or fascia flap2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $1,386.81 for 15734 nationally in a facility.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 15734 covers

This code describes moving a muscle-based, skin-and-muscle, or fascia-and-skin flap to cover or reconstruct a trunk defect. Plastic, general, and reconstructive surgeons may use it after tumor removal or trauma, or when durable tissue coverage is needed for an abdominal or chest-wall defect. Pedicled rectus-based reconstruction and trunk pressure-wound coverage are representative settings. A flap carries its blood supply during transfer, unlike a free skin graft.

Select the code based on the flap tissue and the recipient region, rather than defect size alone. The operative report should identify the flap components, donor and recipient sites, and transfer method, including whether the flap remains pedicled or is transferred as free tissue. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 15734 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

15734 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 15734 rate is calculated

Each of 15734’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 15734

15734 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

15734 compared with similar codes

How to choose

15733Pedicled flapHead and neck, named pedicle

This code is for a trunk defect; 15733 is the related flap code for a head or neck recipient region.

15736Flap reconstructionUpper extremity

Choose this code for a trunk recipient region. Code 15736 applies when the flap covers an arm defect.

15738Lower-extremity flapMuscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous

Choose this code for a trunk recipient region. Code 15738 applies when the flap covers a leg defect.

15756Free tissue flapMuscle or myocutaneous

Use 15756 for a free muscle or skin flap transferred with microvascular technique; this code describes a trunk flap that is not reported as that free-flap service.

Codes related to 15734

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates