CPT code 15829: Facelift, SMAS flap technique2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $0.00 for 15829 nationally in the office and $0.00 in a hospital or 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 15829 covers

An SMAS-flap facelift mobilizes and repositions the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, the fibromuscular layer beneath facial skin, to address facial soft-tissue laxity. Plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons typically perform it in an operating-room setting. The operative report should identify the SMAS flap work and the facial areas treated. Medicare payment is restricted to specified circumstances, so documentation must support a covered indication rather than merely record a cosmetic goal.

Report 15829 for a rhytidectomy that uses the SMAS-flap technique; distinguish it from other facial rhytidectomy codes using the documented technique and anatomy. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. For same-session multiple procedures, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others are subject to the standard reduction. Modifier 50 applies when the service is bilateral and is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 15829 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

15829 rates by state

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

How the 15829 rate is calculated

Each of 15829’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 15829

The CMS indicators that decide how 15829 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

15829 compared with similar codes

How to choose

15828FaceliftCheek, chin, and neck

This code describes rhytidectomy involving the cheek, chin, and neck. Use 15829 when the documented procedure uses the SMAS-flap technique.

15825Neck liftPlatysma tightening

This code addresses neck rhytidectomy with platysmal tightening; 15829 identifies the SMAS-flap facelift technique.

15824Forehead liftForehead rhytidectomy

This code is for forehead rhytidectomy, rather than an SMAS-flap facelift.

Codes related to 15829

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