Billing code 44602: Small-bowel repairMedicare rate & RVUs in Georgia
Reports operative repair of an injured small intestine with one perforation, such as a traumatic or inadvertent bowel injury.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 44602 in Georgia.
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 44602 covers
This service covers surgical closure of a single perforation in the small intestine caused by an injury. A general or colorectal surgeon typically performs the repair in an operating room, often during an urgent operation for abdominal trauma or while addressing an injury recognized during another procedure. The operative report should identify the small-bowel site, the injury, and that the repair involved one perforation.
Choose this code for one small-intestinal injury perforation; multiple perforations point to 44603, while a large-intestinal injury points to 44604 or 44605 according to perforation count. The major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery billing is not permitted.
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 44602 pays more and less in Georgia
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Unavailable | $1,337.53 |
| Rest Of Georgia | Unavailable | $1,297.98 |
How the 44602 rate is calculated
Each of 44602’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 · 44602
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work24.10
24.10 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense8.53
8.53 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice6.00
6.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
38.6300
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$1,290.28
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 44602
44602 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 44602
Small-bowel repair
| 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 | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 1 | Permitted with supporting documentation. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.09/0.81/0.10 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 44602
Small-bowel repair
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
44602 without 51 · national facility
$1,290.28
Small-bowel repair
44602-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$645.14
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%).
44602 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 44603Small bowel suture
- Both codes repair injury perforations in the small intestine. Choose 44602 for one perforation and 44603 for multiple perforations.
- 44604Colon repair
- 44604 is for one injury perforation in the large intestine; 44602 is for one in the small intestine.
- 44605Colon repair
- 44605 is for multiple injury perforations in the large intestine. Confirm both the bowel segment and perforation count before selecting the code.
- 44615Intestinal stricturoplasty
- 44615 treats an intestinal stricture with stricturoplasty. It is not the injury-perforation repair reported with 44602.
44602 billing questions
How does 44602 differ from 44603?
44602 is for one small-bowel injury perforation. Use 44603 when the small intestine has multiple injury perforations.
How do I distinguish this from 44604 or 44605?
Those codes describe injury repair in the large intestine. Select the small- or large-intestine code based on the documented injury site, then use the perforation count to choose the level.
What documentation supports reporting 44602?
The operative report should establish an injury involving the small intestine, identify the repaired site, and document a single perforation.
Can modifier 50 be used?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this repair; the CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to the code.
How does payment work when other procedures are performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%. The code has a 90-day major-surgery global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery billing 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 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
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