$1,516.28–$1,886.30
15730 describes a midface flap with preservation of its vascular pedicle; 15733 identifies a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap with a named pedicle.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
15733 Pedicled flap Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports transfer of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct a head or neck defect while retaining its named vascular pedicle. Compare 15733 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
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 15733 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$906.75–$1061.96
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $155.21 per service.
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.
Where 15733 pays more and less in California
Reconstructive surgery
About 15733: Head and neck named-pedicle flap
Reports transfer of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct a head or neck defect while retaining its named vascular pedicle.
This code covers reconstruction with a muscle, skin-and-muscle, or fascia-and-skin flap moved to a head or neck defect while remaining attached to its named blood supply. Examples include buccinator, facial artery musculomucosal, and submental flaps. Plastic surgeons and head-and-neck surgeons may use these flaps to restore tissue after tumor removal, trauma, or other defects, commonly in an operating room.
Choose the code when the operative report supports the flap’s tissue type, head-and-neck location, and named vascular pedicle; distinguish it from a free flap that requires microvascular transfer. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 15733
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU15.29 · 56%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.32 · 34%
- Malpractice RVU2.58 · 9%
4.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1890 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.
15733 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 15756 for a free muscle or muscle-skin flap transferred with microvascular technique, rather than a flap retained on its named pedicle.
Compare 15733 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.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office Unavailable | Facility $914.06 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $907.18 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $957.12 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $996.94 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $946.64 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $934.58 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $937.31 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $933.51 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $945.04 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1037.70 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1034.77 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1061.96 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1049.98 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $920.14 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $945.84 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $934.16 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $954.48 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $992.72 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.75 |
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15733 billing questions
How does this differ from a free flap?
This flap remains attached to its named vascular pedicle during transfer. A free flap is detached and transferred using microvascular anastomosis.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
Document the flap’s tissue composition, head-or-neck recipient site, named vascular pedicle, and transfer into the defect.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral work?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code’s descriptor or anatomy.
Is related postoperative care separately reported during the global period?
The 90-day global period includes related postoperative care, as well as the day-before preoperative visit.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted. Co-surgeons are paid only with 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.
1,52815650,,Transfer skin pedicle flap,A,,4.65,12.13,,5.94,,0.87,17.65,11.46,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,52915730,,Mdfc flap w/prsrv vasc pedcl,A,,13.16,28.48,,8.77,,1.49,43.13,23.42,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,53015731,,Forehead flap w/vasc pedicle,A,,14.02,18.22,,10.11,,2.14,34.38,26.27,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,53115733,,Musc myoq/fscq flp h&n pedcl,A,,15.29,9.32,NA,9.32,,2.58,27.19,27.19,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,53215734,,Muscle-skin graft trunk,A,,22.43,14.11,NA,14.11,,4.98,41.52,41.52,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,53315736,,Muscle-skin graft arm,A,,16.61,13.35,NA,13.35,,3.31,33.27,33.27,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,53415738,,Muscle-skin graft leg,A,,18.56,12.20,NA,12.20,,3.62,34.38,34.38,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00