No office rate
27496 describes release of one compartment; 27497 is for release of two thigh and/or knee compartments.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27496 Thigh fasciotomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Michigan
Reports surgical release of one thigh or knee compartment to relieve elevated tissue pressure, commonly for acute or impending compartment syndrome. Compare 27496 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Michigan.
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 27496 in Michigan?
Michigan has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$514.18–$553.93
2 of 2 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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 27496: Single-compartment thigh fasciotomy
Reports surgical release of one thigh or knee compartment to relieve elevated tissue pressure, commonly for acute or impending compartment syndrome.
This service is a fasciotomy that releases the fascia around one compartment in the thigh and/or knee to relieve pressure on the enclosed tissues. It is most often performed by an orthopedic or trauma surgeon in an operating room when compartment syndrome requires surgical decompression. The operative report should identify the treated side, the compartment released, and the clinical reason for decompression.
Select this code when one compartment is released; use the applicable sibling code when the surgeon releases more compartments. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. When the procedure is bilateral and reported with modifier 50, Medicare pays 150%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27496
- 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 not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU6.61 · 42%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.89 · 50%
- Malpractice RVU1.40 · 9%
43
Medicare services in 2024 · #5445 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.
27496 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Michigan, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 27498 when three thigh and/or knee compartments are released, rather than the single compartment represented by 27496.
No office rate
27602 describes decompression of lower-leg compartments. Choose by the anatomic site decompressed, not simply by the presence of compartment syndrome.
Compare 27496 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Detroit →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$553.93
Rest Of Michigan →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$514.18
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27496 billing questions
When should 27496 be selected instead of 27497 or 27498?
Use 27496 when the surgeon releases one thigh and/or knee compartment. The sibling codes represent release of two or three compartments.
What operative documentation supports 27496?
Document the indication for decompression, the side treated, and the single compartment released. The operative report should make clear that the service was a fasciotomy for thigh and/or knee decompression.
How is bilateral decompression reported?
For procedures performed on both sides, report modifier 50; CMS pays this code at 150% when reported bilaterally.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect 27496?
When other procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard 50% reduction to the others.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported for 27496?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
2,91527487,,Revise/replace knee joint,A,,26.43,15.11,NA,15.11,,5.60,47.14,47.14,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91627488,,Removal of knee prosthesis,A,,17.16,12.14,NA,12.14,,3.63,32.93,32.93,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91727495,,Reinforce thigh,A,,16.13,11.45,NA,11.45,,3.43,31.01,31.01,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91827496,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,6.61,7.89,NA,7.89,,1.40,15.90,15.90,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91927497,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,7.60,7.30,NA,7.30,,1.62,16.52,16.52,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92027498,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,8.44,8.48,NA,8.48,,1.79,18.71,18.71,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92127499,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,9.19,8.72,NA,8.72,,1.96,19.87,19.87,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00