No office rate
Choose 27600 when the operative release is limited to the anterior and/or lateral compartments, not all lower-leg compartments.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27602 Leg decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Reports fasciotomy releasing all lower-leg compartments, typically as urgent surgical treatment for acute compartment syndrome after trauma or impaired perfusion. Compare 27602 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Iowa.
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 27602 in Iowa?
Iowa has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$395.27
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Iowa
One mapped payment locality.
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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 27602: All-compartment lower leg fasciotomy
Reports fasciotomy releasing all lower-leg compartments, typically as urgent surgical treatment for acute compartment syndrome after trauma or impaired perfusion.
This operation opens the fascial compartments of the lower leg to relieve dangerously elevated pressure; the surgeon may remove nonviable tissue during the procedure. Orthopedic and trauma surgeons commonly perform it urgently for acute compartment syndrome, such as after a severe fracture, crush injury, or restoration of blood flow. The release covers all lower-leg compartments, rather than only the anterior and lateral compartments or only the posterior compartment.
Report 27602 when the operative work decompresses all compartments. The operative report should identify the compartments released and describe the indication and any debridement performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including 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 the others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27602
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- 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 RVU7.62 · 57%
- Practice expense (office) RVU3.79 · 29%
- Malpractice RVU1.88 · 14%
1.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2527 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.
27602 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Choose 27601 when the release is limited to the posterior compartment; 27602 describes decompression of all compartments.
$497.03
27603 is for drainage of a lower-leg lesion. It does not describe the pressure-relieving all-compartment release reported with 27602.
Compare 27602 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Iowa →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$395.27
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 27602 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,964
- Code
- 27602
- Physician work
- 7.62
- Practice expense
- 3.79
- Malpractice
- 1.88
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 7.62 | × 1.000 | 7.6200 |
| Practice expense | 3.79 | × 0.915 | 3.4679 |
| Malpractice | 1.88 | × 0.397 | 0.7464 |
| Total RVUs | 11.8342 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$395.27
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 7.62 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 3.79 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 1.88 | 0.397 |
(7.62 × 1 + 3.79 × 0.915 + 1.88 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $395.27
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
27602 billing questions
How does 27602 differ from 27600 and 27601?
27602 is for release of all lower-leg compartments. 27600 describes release of the anterior and/or lateral compartments, while 27601 describes release of the posterior compartment.
Can debridement be part of 27602?
Yes. The all-compartment decompression may include debridement of nonviable tissue when performed as part of the operation.
What documentation supports reporting 27602?
Document the acute condition prompting decompression, the compartments released, and any debridement performed. The operative details should support release of all compartments rather than a more limited release.
How is 27602 reported when both legs are treated?
CMS lists bilateral reporting with modifier 50, paid at 150%. The operative documentation should support decompression of all compartments in each treated leg.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team-surgery payment 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.
2,96127599,,Unlisted px femur/knee,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,2,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96227600,,Decompression of lower leg,A,,5.88,4.15,NA,4.15,,1.22,11.25,11.25,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96327601,,Decompression of lower leg,A,,5.90,5.50,NA,5.50,,1.12,12.52,12.52,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96427602,,Decompression of lower leg,A,,7.62,3.79,NA,3.79,,1.88,13.29,13.29,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96527603,,Drain lower leg lesion,A,,5.10,10.29,,5.10,,0.92,16.31,11.12,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96627604,,Drain lower leg bursa,A,,4.48,9.00,,4.18,,0.82,14.30,9.48,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,96727605,,Incision of achilles tendon,A,,2.85,6.96,,2.06,,0.28,10.09,5.19,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136