No office rate
Use 57287 for removal or revision of a sling when that is the operative treatment. Urethrolysis frees the urethra from scar or tethering; both may be needed in selected cases.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
53500 Urethrolysis Medicare reimbursement rates in Missouri
Transvaginal urethrolysis frees the female urethra from scar tissue or tethering causing obstruction, often after prior anti-incontinence surgery. Compare 53500 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Missouri.
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 53500 in Missouri?
Missouri has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$645.53–$663.96
3 of 3 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.
Where 53500 pays more and less in Missouri
Urologic surgery
About 53500: Transvaginal urethral scar release
Transvaginal urethrolysis frees the female urethra from scar tissue or tethering causing obstruction, often after prior anti-incontinence surgery.
A urologist or urogynecologist uses a vaginal approach to release scar tissue or adhesions restricting the female urethra. A typical situation is persistent difficulty emptying the bladder from urethral tethering after prior anti-incontinence surgery. Endoscopic control may be used during the operation, but the code describes the transvaginal release whether or not it is used. This is an operative service, generally performed in a surgical setting, rather than an office treatment for urinary symptoms.
Report the code when the operative work frees the urethra from obstructing periurethral scar or fixation; document the cause of obstruction, relevant prior surgery, operative findings, and the release performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 53500
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- 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 RVU12.68 · 63%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.53 · 27%
- Malpractice RVU1.93 · 10%
368
Medicare services in 2024 · #3802 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.
53500 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Missouri, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
This code describes one-stage reconstruction of the female urethra. Choose 53500 when the work is release of periurethral scar, not reconstruction of the urethral channel.
No office rate
This code is for urethral injury repair. Choose 53500 for transvaginal urethral release when the operative problem is scar-related restriction rather than an injury.
Compare 53500 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Metropolitan Kansas City →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$659.94
Metropolitan St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$663.96
Rest Of Missouri →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$645.53
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53500 billing questions
When should 53500 be chosen instead of a urethral repair code?
Use 53500 for transvaginal release of scar or tethering that restricts the urethra. A urethral repair code describes repair of an injury or defect, not release of external fixation.
Can 53500 be reported when endoscopic control is used?
Yes. Endoscopic control may be used as part of the transvaginal urethrolysis; its use does not change the selection of 53500.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral work?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code and anatomy.
What supports reporting 53500?
Document the urethral obstruction or tethering, the relevant scar or prior operative history, and the transvaginal release performed. The note should make clear that the work freed the urethra rather than repaired a urethral injury.
How does the 90-day global affect postoperative visits?
The day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90-day period are included in the global surgical service.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires 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.
6,21053453,,Tprnl balo cntnc dev rmvl ea,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21153454,,Tprnl balo cntnc dev adjmt,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21253460,,Revision of urethra,A,,7.56,4.07,NA,4.07,,0.99,12.62,12.62,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21353500,,Urethrlys transvag w/ scope,A,,12.68,5.53,NA,5.53,,1.93,20.14,20.14,0,090,0.12,0.74,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21453502,,Repair of urethra injury,A,,8.05,4.28,NA,4.28,,1.05,13.38,13.38,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21553505,,Repair of urethra injury,A,,8.05,4.27,NA,4.27,,1.05,13.37,13.37,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,21653510,,Repair of urethra injury,A,,10.69,5.20,NA,5.20,,1.36,17.25,17.25,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00