Billing code 49323: Lymphocele drainageMedicare rate & RVUs in Florida
Report laparoscopic operative drainage when a surgeon treats a lymphocele, often a symptomatic postoperative collection, through abdominal ports.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 49323 in Florida.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 49323 covers
This code represents operative laparoscopic treatment of a lymphocele, a postoperative lymphatic fluid collection, by opening the collection to establish drainage. Surgeons may encounter symptomatic pelvic lymphoceles after pelvic lymph-node dissection or in transplant patients; the laparoscope allows inspection and treatment through abdominal ports. General, gynecologic, urologic, or transplant surgeons may perform the procedure in a hospital operating room.
Select 49323 when the operative work is directed to draining a lymphocele, rather than merely sampling it or aspirating a collection. The operative report should identify the collection as a lymphocele, document its location and the laparoscopic approach, and describe the drainage performed. CMS assigns a 90-day major-surgery global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy-family pricing applies. Assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons are permitted; team surgery is not. Modifier 50 is inappropriate.
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 49323 pays more and less in Florida
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale | Unavailable | $669.62 |
| Miami | Unavailable | $731.14 |
| Rest Of Florida | Unavailable | $634.86 |
How the 49323 rate is calculated
Each of 49323’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.
How the rate is built · 49323
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 9.97Practice expense 5.79Malpractice 2.33
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 49323
49323 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 49323
Lymphocele drainage
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 3 | Endoscopy family rules apply. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 2 | Permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.10/0.80/0.10 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 49323
Lymphocele drainage
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
49323 without 51 · national facility
$604.22
Lymphocele drainage
49323-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$302.11
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
49323 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
49323 vs 49322 vs 49320 vs 49329: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 49322Laparoscopic aspiration
- 49323 is for operative drainage of a lymphocele; 49322 is for laparoscopic aspiration of a collection.
- 49320Diagnostic laparoscopy
- 49320 describes diagnostic laparoscopic inspection. Choose 49323 when the surgeon performs therapeutic drainage of a lymphocele.
- 49329Unlstd laps px abd pertm&omn
- 49329 is an unlisted laparoscopic code. Use 49323 when the documented procedure is laparoscopic drainage of a lymphocele.
49323 billing questions
When should 49323 be chosen over 49322?
Use 49323 for operative laparoscopic drainage of a lymphocele. Code 49322 describes laparoscopic aspiration, which removes fluid by suction rather than establishing operative drainage.
Can diagnostic laparoscopy be reported separately with 49323?
Do not separately report diagnostic laparoscopy solely for inspection or access during the same operative session in which the lymphocele is drained.
What documentation supports 49323?
Document that the treated collection is a lymphocele, its location, the laparoscopic approach, and the operative steps used to drain it.
Does modifier 50 apply to bilateral lymphoceles?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 is not used.
How does the 90-day global affect postoperative care?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the major-surgery global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made, and co-surgeons are permitted. Team surgery is not permitted for this code.
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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 49323 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →