No office rate
27680 is for release of one tendon; 27681 is the related choice when multiple tendons are released.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27680 Tendon release Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Surgical freeing of a single scar-tethered flexor or extensor tendon in the leg or ankle to restore tendon glide after trauma or prior surgery. Compare 27680 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.
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 27680 in Texas?
Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No 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 27680 pays more and less in Texas
Orthopedic surgery
About 27680: Single lower-leg tendon adhesion release
Surgical freeing of a single scar-tethered flexor or extensor tendon in the leg or ankle to restore tendon glide after trauma or prior surgery.
The surgeon frees a flexor or extensor tendon in the leg or ankle that is bound down by scar tissue and cannot glide normally. This may be considered when restricted tendon movement continues after an injury or prior operation and limits motion despite nonsurgical care. An orthopedic or foot-and-ankle surgeon typically performs the release in an operating room, such as a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center.
Report this code for release of one tendon; the operative report should identify the tendon and site, describe the adhesions, and document the work performed. The 90-day global period includes 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%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27680
- 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
- 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 RVU5.73 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.54 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU0.96 · 8%
2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2454 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.
27680 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
$640.54–$703.77
27680 frees a tendon tethered by adhesions. 27685 changes the length of a tendon when length, rather than scarring, is the operative problem.
No office rate
27680 releases adhesions around a tendon. 27658 is a primary tendon repair, used when the tendon itself requires repair rather than adhesion release.
Compare 27680 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.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Office Unavailable | Facility $415.95 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $389.56 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $401.30 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $404.92 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $403.49 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $403.21 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $420.79 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $395.95 |
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
27680 billing questions
When should 27680 be chosen over 27681?
Use 27680 for release of one lower-leg or ankle tendon. When the operative service releases multiple tendons, compare the documentation with 27681, the multiple-tendon sibling.
What documentation supports reporting 27680?
The operative report should identify the flexor or extensor tendon and its leg or ankle location, describe the tethering adhesions, and explain the release performed.
Can modifier 50 be reported for bilateral tendon releases?
CMS identifies modifier 50 as inappropriate for this code; its descriptor or anatomy does not receive a bilateral adjustment.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted for this code. 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.
3,00027665,,Repair of leg tendon each,A,,5.43,5.66,NA,5.66,,0.87,11.96,11.96,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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