No office rate
27488 reports removal of the knee prosthesis, with or without a spacer. Use 27486 when the operation revises or replaces one component.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27488 Knee prosthesis removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Alaska
Reports operative removal of a knee prosthesis, with or without placement of a spacer, such as during staged treatment of prosthetic joint infection. Compare 27488 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alaska.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 27488 in Alaska?
Alaska has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1358.39
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alaska*
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Orthopedic surgery
About 27488: Removal of knee prosthesis with or without spacer
Reports operative removal of a knee prosthesis, with or without placement of a spacer, such as during staged treatment of prosthetic joint infection.
An orthopedic surgeon removes implanted knee prosthetic components and associated cement when the treatment plan calls for explantation rather than definitive revision at that operation. A typical situation is the first stage of treating an infected knee replacement, when components are removed and a temporary spacer may be placed. The service is generally performed in an operating room, often in a hospital facility.
Select this code when the operative work is removal of the knee prosthesis, with or without spacer placement; a definitive revision replacing one or both components is represented by a different service. The operative report should identify the indication, components removed, and whether a spacer was inserted. This major surgery has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For same-session procedures, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with 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.
CMS billing rules for 27488
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU17.16 · 52%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.14 · 37%
- Malpractice RVU3.63 · 11%
3.6K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2068 by national volume
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.
27488 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alaska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
27488 is for prosthesis removal rather than definitive revision. Use 27487 when both knee components are revised or replaced.
No office rate
27447 describes primary total knee replacement. It is not the code for removing an existing prosthesis during staged treatment.
Compare 27488 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alaska* →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1358.39
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 27488 in Alaska*.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,916
- Code
- 27488
- Physician work
- 17.16
- Practice expense
- 12.14
- Malpractice
- 3.63
GPCI2026.csv
5
- Locality
- Alaska*
- Physician work
- 1.500
- Practice expense
- 1.065
- Malpractice
- 0.551
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 17.16 | × 1.500 | 25.7400 |
| Practice expense | 12.14 | × 1.065 | 12.9291 |
| Malpractice | 3.63 | × 0.551 | 2.0001 |
| Total RVUs | 40.6692 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alaska*$1358.39
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 17.16 | 1.5 |
| Practice expense | 12.14 | 1.065 |
| Malpractice | 3.63 | 0.551 |
(17.16 × 1.5 + 12.14 × 1.065 + 3.63 × 0.551) × $33.4009 = $1358.39
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
27488 billing questions
How does this differ from a knee revision code?
Use 27488 for prosthesis removal, with or without spacer placement, rather than definitive component revision. Codes 27486 and 27487 describe revision or replacement of one or both components.
Can a spacer be placed during the removal?
Yes. Spacer placement may accompany the prosthesis removal reported with 27488.
What should the operative report document?
Document the reason for explantation, which prosthetic components were removed, and whether a spacer was inserted. The record should make clear whether the operation was removal or definitive revision.
What is the global period?
This major surgery has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How is bilateral reporting handled?
When the procedure is performed bilaterally, modifier 50 is paid at 150% under the CMS facts for this code.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is 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 indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
2,91327485,,Surgery to stop leg growth,A,,8.90,8.16,NA,8.16,,1.90,18.96,18.96,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91427486,,Revise/replace knee joint,A,,20.59,13.23,NA,13.23,,4.35,38.17,38.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91527487,,Revise/replace knee joint,A,,26.43,15.11,NA,15.11,,5.60,47.14,47.14,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91627488,,Removal of knee prosthesis,A,,17.16,12.14,NA,12.14,,3.63,32.93,32.93,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91727495,,Reinforce thigh,A,,16.13,11.45,NA,11.45,,3.43,31.01,31.01,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91827496,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,6.61,7.89,NA,7.89,,1.40,15.90,15.90,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91927497,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,7.60,7.30,NA,7.30,,1.62,16.52,16.52,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515
801112,CA,54,BAKERSFIELD,1.019,1.096,0.609