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Billing code 15860: Flap perfusion testMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports an intravenous dye test used during flap or graft surgery to assess blood flow and help evaluate tissue perfusion.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities6.2K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $93.19 for 15860 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 15860

Flap perfusion test

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
1.9
Total RVUs
2.79
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$93.19

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 15860 → · Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 15860 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 15860 covers

During reconstructive surgery, the surgeon injects an intravenous agent, such as fluorescein or indocyanine green, to assess blood flow through a flap or graft. The test may help evaluate tissue perfusion during procedures involving transferred tissue, including breast reconstruction or flap repair of the head, trunk, or extremity. Plastic and reconstructive surgeons most often perform it in an operating room.

Report 15860 when the agent injection and vascular-flow assessment are performed, with documentation identifying the flap or graft and the test performed. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When other procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare’s standard multiple-procedure reduction applies: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented 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 15860 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

15860 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$85.65
Alaska*Unavailable$120.50
ArizonaUnavailable$90.87
ArkansasUnavailable$84.75
AtlantaUnavailable$96.14
AustinUnavailable$92.91
BakersfieldUnavailable$91.23
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$98.40
BeaumontUnavailable$90.75
BrazoriaUnavailable$90.82

15860 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
15860 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 15860 rate is calculated

Each of 15860’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.

How the rate is built · 15860

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 1.90Practice expense 0.52Malpractice 0.37

2.7900 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$93.19

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 15860

The CMS indicators that decide how 15860 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 15860

Flap perfusion test

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)0Not paid without supporting documentation.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

15860 without 51 · national facility

$93.19

Flap perfusion test

15860-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$46.60

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

15860 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

15860 vs 15734 vs 15738 vs 19364: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 15860
    Flap perfusion test · 1.9 wRVU
    —
  • 15734
    Trunk flap · 22.43 wRVU
    —
  • 15738
    Lower-extremity flap · 18.56 wRVU
    —
  • 19364
    Free-flap reconstruction · 41.52 wRVU
    —

How to choose

15734Trunk flap
15734 reports a trunk flap procedure; 15860 reports the intravenous agent injection and blood-flow test performed on a flap or graft.
15738Lower-extremity flap
15738 reports a lower-extremity flap procedure. Use 15860 for the separate perfusion test, not for creating or transferring the flap.
19364Free-flap reconstruction
19364 reports breast reconstruction with a free flap. 15860 describes the intravenous vascular-flow test that may be performed during that reconstruction.

Codes related to 15860

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

Codes related to 15860
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Often billed with
15733Pedicled flapMay describe a head or neck flap procedure assessed with the perfusion test.No office rate
15734Trunk flapMay describe a trunk flap procedure assessed with the perfusion test.No office rate
15738Lower-extremity flapMay describe a lower-extremity flap procedure assessed with the perfusion test.No office rate
19364Free-flap reconstructionBreast reconstruction with a free flap may include a separate perfusion test.No office rate

15860 billing questions

Is 15860 the flap reconstruction itself?

No. It reports the intravenous agent injection and blood-flow test; the flap or graft reconstruction is reported with its own procedure code.

What should the operative note document?

Identify the flap or graft and describe the intravenous agent injection and vascular-flow assessment performed.

Can 15860 be reported with the flap procedure?

It may be reported with a flap procedure when the injection and test are performed. The same-session multiple-procedure reduction may affect payment.

Should modifier 50 be used for testing both sides?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to 15860, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.

Does 15860 have a postoperative global period?

It has a 0-day global period. Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.

When is assistant-at-surgery payment allowed?

Only when medical necessity for the assistant is documented. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 15860PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,588 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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