FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu
On this page

CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

15733 Pedicled flap Medicare reimbursement rates in Vermont

Reports transfer of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct a head or neck defect while retaining its named vascular pedicle. Compare 15733 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Vermont.

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 15733 in Vermont?

Vermont 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

$862.49

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Vermont

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.

Find 15733 in your payment locality →

Reconstructive surgery

About 15733: Head and neck named-pedicle flap

Reports transfer of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap to reconstruct a head or neck defect while retaining its named vascular pedicle.

This code covers reconstruction with a muscle, skin-and-muscle, or fascia-and-skin flap moved to a head or neck defect while remaining attached to its named blood supply. Examples include buccinator, facial artery musculomucosal, and submental flaps. Plastic surgeons and head-and-neck surgeons may use these flaps to restore tissue after tumor removal, trauma, or other defects, commonly in an operating room.

Choose the code when the operative report supports the flap’s tissue type, head-and-neck location, and named vascular pedicle; distinguish it from a free flap that requires microvascular transfer. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 15733

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 RVU15.29 · 56%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU9.32 · 34%
  • Malpractice RVU2.58 · 9%

4.8K

Medicare services in 2024 · #1890 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.

15733 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Vermont, from the same CMS release.

15730

Midface flap

Vascular pedicle preserved

$1,406.48

15730 describes a midface flap with preservation of its vascular pedicle; 15733 identifies a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap with a named pedicle.

15756

Free tissue flap

Muscle or myocutaneous

No office rate

Use 15756 for a free muscle or muscle-skin flap transferred with microvascular technique, rather than a flap retained on its named pedicle.

Compare 15733 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

  • Vermont →

    Office / nonfacility

    Unavailable

    Facility

    $862.49

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.

Explore fee-sheet early access →

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 15733 in Vermont.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

1,531

Code
15733
Physician work
15.29
Practice expense
9.32
Malpractice
2.58

GPCI2026.csv

105

Locality
Vermont
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.990
Malpractice
0.506
Facility calculation for 15733 in Vermont
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work15.29× 1.00015.2900
Practice expense9.32× 0.9909.2268
Malpractice2.58× 0.5061.3055
Total RVUs25.8223
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Vermont$862.49

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work15.291
Practice expense9.320.99
Malpractice2.580.506

(15.29 × 1 + 9.32 × 0.99 + 2.58 × 0.506) × $33.4009 = $862.49

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.

15733 billing questions

How does this differ from a free flap?

This flap remains attached to its named vascular pedicle during transfer. A free flap is detached and transferred using microvascular anastomosis.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

Document the flap’s tissue composition, head-or-neck recipient site, named vascular pedicle, and transfer into the defect.

Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral work?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code’s descriptor or anatomy.

Is related postoperative care separately reported during the global period?

The 90-day global period includes related postoperative care, as well as the day-before preoperative visit.

How are other procedures in the same session paid?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted. 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.

RVUs for 15733PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,531 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for VermontGPCI2026.csv, line 105 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet