No office rate
26477 is for shortening a tendon; 26476 is for lengthening one. The operative report should establish which change in tendon length was performed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26477 Tendon shortening Medicare reimbursement rates in Florida
Reports surgical shortening of a hand or finger tendon, counted for each tendon treated to correct excessive length or tendon imbalance. Compare 26477 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Florida.
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 26477 in Florida?
Florida has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$612.61–$681.17
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
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 26477 pays more and less in Florida
Hand surgery
About 26477: Hand or finger tendon shortening
Reports surgical shortening of a hand or finger tendon, counted for each tendon treated to correct excessive length or tendon imbalance.
CPT 26477 describes an operation that reduces the effective length of a hand or finger tendon and secures it at the corrected length. A hand, orthopedic, or plastic surgeon may perform it in an operating room when tendon length or tension needs correction to improve position or function. The operative report should identify the tendon and site and describe the shortening performed and the clinical problem being treated.
Report the service for each tendon shortened, with documentation supporting the number of tendons treated. The code has a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Do not use modifier 50 for bilateral adjustment. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26477
- 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 RVU5.19 · 28%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.20 · 66%
- Malpractice RVU0.99 · 5%
122
Medicare services in 2024 · #4724 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.
26477 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Florida, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
26478 describes hand-tendon lengthening. Choose 26477 when the tendon is shortened instead.
No office rate
Both codes concern tendon shortening in the hand region. Check the full code descriptors and operative details to determine which anatomical and service distinction applies.
No office rate
26437 addresses tendon realignment. Use 26477 when the documented operation shortens the tendon rather than realigning it.
Compare 26477 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Fort Lauderdale →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$645.92
Miami →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$681.17
Rest Of Florida →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$612.61
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26477 billing questions
How is 26477 different from tendon lengthening?
Use 26477 when the operation shortens the tendon. Tendon lengthening is a different service; select the code that matches the direction of the tendon-length change documented in the operative report.
How many units should be reported?
The code is reported for each tendon shortened. The operative report should identify each tendon treated.
Does 26477 include related postoperative visits?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can modifier 50 be used when both hands are treated?
No. CMS lists bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 should not be used for bilateral reporting.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery is not paid for this service. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided; 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.
2,60426471,,Fusion of finger tendons,A,,5.75,12.45,NA,12.45,,1.07,19.27,19.27,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,60526474,,Fusion of finger tendons,A,,5.35,13.12,NA,13.12,,1.14,19.61,19.61,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,60626476,,Tendon lengthening,A,,5.22,13.07,NA,13.07,,1.12,19.41,19.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,60726477,,Tendon shortening,A,,5.19,12.20,NA,12.20,,0.99,18.38,18.38,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,60826478,,Lengthening of hand tendon,A,,5.82,12.54,NA,12.54,,1.13,19.49,19.49,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,60926479,,Shortening of hand tendon,A,,5.76,13.25,NA,13.25,,1.23,20.24,20.24,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,61026480,,Transplant hand tendon,A,,8.78,9.56,NA,9.56,,1.66,20.00,20.00,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00