CPT code 51845: Bladder neck repair, retropubic abdominal suspension2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 51845 in California.

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

What 51845 covers

Code 51845 represents an abdominal retropubic operation that supports the urethrovesical junction and bladder neck, commonly through a Burch colposuspension or Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure. Urologists, urogynecologists, or gynecologists typically perform it in an operating room for stress urinary incontinence when the operative plan calls for retropubic suspension. It describes support of the junction, not direct closure of a bladder wound.

Choose the code from the operation documented, including the abdominal retropubic approach and the repair or suspension performed; the diagnosis alone is not enough. This major surgery has a 90-day global period that includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For other procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and additional procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is not used to report this repair as bilateral. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 51845 pays more and less in California

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

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 51845 rate is calculated

Each of 51845’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 51845

51845 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

51845 compared with similar codes

How to choose

51840Bladder suspensionAbdominal approach

51840 describes simple anterior vesicourethropexy or urethropexy. Choose 51845 when the documented operation is an abdominal retropubic repair of the urethrovesical junction.

51841Bladder suspensionComplicated repair

51841 describes complicated anterior vesicourethropexy or urethropexy. Code 51845 identifies the abdominal retropubic approach to the urethrovesical junction.

57288Sling procedureStress-incontinence sling

57288 is for a sling operation to treat stress urinary incontinence; 51845 is for retropubic suspension of the urethrovesical junction.

51860Bladder repairSimple wound suture

51860 reports repair of a bladder wound. It is not the code for supporting the bladder neck or urethrovesical junction.

Codes related to 51845

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