No office rate
63172 describes drainage of an intramedullary spinal cyst in the cervical region; 63173 is the thoracic-region code.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63173 Spinal cyst drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Thoracic laminectomy to drain an intramedullary spinal cyst, such as a syrinx, when the operative target is in the thoracic spinal cord. Compare 63173 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 63173 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
$1610.07–$1881.19
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $271.12 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 63173 pays more and less in California
Neurosurgery
About 63173: Thoracic spinal cyst drainage
Thoracic laminectomy to drain an intramedullary spinal cyst, such as a syrinx, when the operative target is in the thoracic spinal cord.
A neurosurgeon uses a thoracic laminectomy to reach and drain an intramedullary spinal cord cyst, commonly a syrinx associated with syringomyelia. The code is selected for a cyst in the thoracic region; it is not the cervical or lumbar counterpart. The operation is performed in a surgical setting, with the operative report identifying the cyst and its location.
Report the thoracic code when the documented drainage procedure targets a cyst in the thoracic spinal cord. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63173
- 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
- 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 RVU23.70 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU17.09 · 34%
- Malpractice RVU10.02 · 20%
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.
63173 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
Compare 63173 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 $1636.08 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $1611.74 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1721.56 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $1763.83 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $1696.98 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $1716.95 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $1663.35 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $1657.11 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $1679.45 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1825.28 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1813.90 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1881.19 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1834.67 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $1634.61 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $1681.16 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $1658.73 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $1695.70 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $1747.43 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $1610.07 |
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63173 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 63172?
63173 is for drainage of a cyst in the thoracic spinal cord. Use 63172 for the cervical region.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should identify the spinal cyst, document drainage, and establish that the operative target is in the thoracic region.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. The descriptor and anatomy make bilateral adjustment and modifier 50 inappropriate.
How does the global period affect postoperative billing?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction.
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.
7,03163103,,Remove vertebral body add-on,A,,4.70,1.58,NA,1.58,,1.59,7.87,7.87,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03263170,,Incise spinal cord tract(s),A,,21.65,16.38,NA,16.38,,9.16,47.19,47.19,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03363172,,Drainage of spinal cyst,A,,19.27,14.48,NA,14.48,,8.13,41.88,41.88,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03463173,,Drainage of spinal cyst,A,,23.70,17.09,NA,17.09,,10.02,50.81,50.81,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03563185,,Incise spine nrv half segmnt,A,,16.08,14.17,NA,14.17,,6.77,37.02,37.02,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03663190,,Incise spine nrv >2 segmnts,A,,18.42,11.34,NA,11.34,,3.92,33.68,33.68,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03763191,,Incise spine accessory nerve,A,,18.45,15.00,NA,15.00,,7.77,41.22,41.22,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00