Billing code 27345: Knee cyst excisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $468.28 for 27345 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 27345 covers

billing code 27345 describes surgical excision of a popliteal or other synovial cyst of the knee. A typical case is removal of a symptomatic Baker cyst in the posterior knee by an orthopedic surgeon. The operative note should establish that the target is a cyst associated with the knee, identify its location, and describe the excision performed. This is distinct from removing a prepatellar bursa or excising a nonsynovial soft-tissue mass.

Report the code for the cyst excision, not merely for evaluation or diagnostic sampling. The record should support the cyst’s site and the operative work; use a different code when the procedure treats a different structure or lesion type. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; 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 27345 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

27345 rates by state

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

How the 27345 rate is calculated

Each of 27345’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 27345

27345 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 50

27345 compared with similar codes

How to choose

27347Knee cyst excision

Both codes concern knee cyst removal. Choose using the exact cyst type, site, and operative work documented, rather than treating the descriptors as interchangeable.

27340Bursa excision

Use 27340 when the surgeon removes the prepatellar bursa. Use 27345 for excision of a popliteal or other synovial knee cyst.

27327Soft-tissue excision

This code concerns excision of a small superficial thigh or knee lesion. A documented popliteal or synovial cyst calls for the cyst-specific code instead.

27337Soft-tissue excision

This code concerns a larger superficial thigh or knee lesion, not a popliteal or synovial cyst.

Codes related to 27345

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