No office rate
27680 is for release of one tendon. Choose 27681 when multiple lower-leg or ankle tendons are released from adhesions.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27681 Tenolysis Medicare reimbursement rates in Kansas
Surgical release of adhesions involving multiple lower-leg or ankle tendons, reported when tethering limits tendon glide and motion. Compare 27681 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kansas.
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 27681 in Kansas?
Kansas 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
$448.11
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Kansas
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 27681: Lower leg multiple-tendon tenolysis
Surgical release of adhesions involving multiple lower-leg or ankle tendons, reported when tethering limits tendon glide and motion.
Tenolysis frees flexor or extensor tendons in the lower leg or ankle from adhesions that restrict their movement. A typical situation is persistent tendon tethering after a prior tendon repair, fracture, or ankle operation, with impaired excursion despite appropriate recovery or therapy. An orthopedic surgeon, often a foot-and-ankle specialist, performs the release in an operating room.
Report this code when the operation releases multiple tendons; use the single-tendon sibling when only one tendon is released. The operative report should identify the tendons, side, adhesions, and work performed to restore tendon glide. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27681
- 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
- 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 RVU6.87 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.55 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU1.24 · 8%
150
Medicare services in 2024 · #4563 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.
27681 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Kansas, from the same CMS release.
$624.88
27685 describes lengthening or shortening a single tendon to address tendon tightness or length. Tenolysis instead frees adhesions restricting tendon glide.
No office rate
27686 addresses lengthening or shortening multiple tendons. Report 27681 when the operative work is releasing adhesions from multiple tendons.
No office rate
27690 involves tendon transfer or rerouting. It is distinct from freeing multiple tendons from adhesions without transferring them.
Compare 27681 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
Kansas →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$448.11
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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 27681 in Kansas.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,004
- Code
- 27681
- Physician work
- 6.87
- Practice expense
- 6.55
- Malpractice
- 1.24
GPCI2026.csv
54
- Locality
- Kansas
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.904
- Malpractice
- 0.504
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 6.87 | × 1.000 | 6.8700 |
| Practice expense | 6.55 | × 0.904 | 5.9212 |
| Malpractice | 1.24 | × 0.504 | 0.6250 |
| Total RVUs | 13.4162 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Kansas$448.11
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 6.87 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 6.55 | 0.904 |
| Malpractice | 1.24 | 0.504 |
(6.87 × 1 + 6.55 × 0.904 + 1.24 × 0.504) × $33.4009 = $448.11
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.
27681 billing questions
When should I report 27681 rather than 27680?
Use 27681 when the surgeon releases multiple lower-leg or ankle tendons from adhesions. Use 27680 when the release involves one tendon.
Should I report a separate unit for each tendon released?
This code describes release involving multiple tendons, so do not repeat the single-tendon code solely to count each tendon. Document the tendons treated and the release performed.
What documentation supports the multiple-tendon code?
The operative report should identify the affected tendons and side, describe adhesions that restricted glide, and explain the release performed on the multiple tendons.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
How is bilateral tenolysis handled under the CMS facts?
For a bilateral procedure, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. The standard multiple-procedure reduction also applies when procedures are performed in the same session.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed for this operation?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is subject to a statutory restriction. Co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation; 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.
3,00127675,,Repair lower leg tendons,A,,7.17,5.81,NA,5.81,,1.07,14.05,14.05,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00227676,,Repair lower leg tendons,A,,8.51,7.20,NA,7.20,,1.48,17.19,17.19,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00327680,,Release of lower leg tendon,A,,5.73,5.54,NA,5.54,,0.96,12.23,12.23,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00427681,,Release of lower leg tendons,A,,6.87,6.55,NA,6.55,,1.24,14.66,14.66,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00527685,,Revision of lower leg tendon,A,,6.52,12.97,,5.84,,0.92,20.41,13.28,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00627686,,Revise lower leg tendons,A,,7.56,6.28,NA,6.28,,1.22,15.06,15.06,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,00727687,,Revision of calf tendon,A,,6.25,5.77,NA,5.77,,0.98,13.00,13.00,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
5707202,LA,99,REST OF LOUISIANA,1.000,0.885,0.958