CPT code 21743: Nuss repair, with thoracoscopy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

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

What 21743 covers

This code reports minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum or carinatum using the Nuss approach with thoracoscopic visualization. The surgeon reshapes the chest wall by placing a curved support bar behind the sternum under thoracoscopic guidance. A thoracic or pediatric surgeon typically performs the operation in an operating room. Thoracoscopy distinguishes this service from the Nuss repair reported without thoracoscopy.

Medicare assigns physician fee schedule status C: no national payment amount is published, and the Medicare Administrative Contractor prices each claim. The operation has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the standard multiple-procedure reduction applies to the others. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; an assistant at surgery may be paid, and co-surgeons require supporting documentation. 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 21743 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

21743 rates by state

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

How the 21743 rate is calculated

Each of 21743’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 21743

21743 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

21743 compared with similar codes

How to choose

21742Nuss repairWithout thoracoscopy

Choose 21743 when thoracoscopy is used during the Nuss repair; 21742 describes the Nuss approach without thoracoscopy.

21740Sternal reconstructionOpen reconstruction

21740 describes sternal reconstruction for deformity without specifying the minimally invasive Nuss approach. Use 21743 for thoracoscopically assisted Nuss repair.

21750Sternal repairPostoperative separation

21750 addresses separation of the sternum, not repair of a pectus deformity using a Nuss procedure.

Codes related to 21743

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