No office rate
This code is for postoperative exploration in the chest; 35800 is for the neck.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
35820 Chest exploration Medicare reimbursement rates in New Jersey
Report chest exploration to investigate postoperative bleeding, thrombosis, or infection, including reopening a sternotomy or thoracotomy when needed. Compare 35820 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in New Jersey.
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 35820 in New Jersey?
New Jersey 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
$1981.90–$2026.47
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.
Vascular surgery
About 35820: Postoperative chest exploration
Report chest exploration to investigate postoperative bleeding, thrombosis, or infection, including reopening a sternotomy or thoracotomy when needed.
This service involves reopening and examining the chest after a prior operation to investigate suspected postoperative hemorrhage, thrombosis, or infection. A cardiothoracic or vascular surgeon may perform it in an operating room, often after cardiac or other chest surgery. The exploration can include lysis of adhesions; the clinical record should identify the suspected complication and the findings from the exploration.
Report the code for the postoperative chest exploration, rather than for a general chest incision or exploration unrelated to a postoperative complication. It has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. 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% reduction. Do not use modifier 50; this service is not billed bilaterally. An assistant at surgery may be paid, co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 35820
- 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 RVU35.97 · 64%
- Practice expense (office) RVU11.22 · 20%
- Malpractice RVU8.82 · 16%
4.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1979 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.
35820 compared with similar codes
Office rates for New Jersey, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
This code is for postoperative exploration in the chest; 35840 is for the abdomen.
No office rate
Use 35820 to investigate postoperative hemorrhage, thrombosis, or infection. A general thoracotomy exploration is not selected on that basis.
Compare 35820 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
Northern Nj →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2026.47
Rest Of New Jersey →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1981.90
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35820 billing questions
When should this be chosen instead of a general thoracotomy exploration?
Use this code when the chest is reopened to investigate postoperative hemorrhage, thrombosis, or infection. A general thoracotomy exploration is for a different clinical purpose, not investigation of these postoperative complications.
Does the code include reopening the chest and lysis of adhesions?
Yes. The exploration includes reopening a sternotomy or thoracotomy and may include lysis of adhesions.
Should modifier 50 be reported?
No. This chest exploration is not billed bilaterally, so do not append modifier 50.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
What documentation supports reporting this service?
Document the prior chest operation, the suspected postoperative bleeding, thrombosis, or infection, and the findings and work performed during the exploration.
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.
4,4133572F,,Pt consid poss risk fx,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,4143573F,,Pt not consid poss risk fx,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41535800,,Explore neck vessels,A,,11.70,5.76,NA,5.76,,2.34,19.80,19.80,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41635820,,Explore chest vessels,A,,35.97,11.22,NA,11.22,,8.82,56.01,56.01,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41735840,,Explore abdominal vessels,A,,20.23,8.38,NA,8.38,,5.02,33.63,33.63,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41835860,,Explore limb vessels,A,,14.87,4.66,NA,4.66,,3.69,23.22,23.22,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41935870,,Repair vessel graft defect,A,,23.89,4.00,NA,4.00,,6.11,34.00,34.00,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00