No office rate
Choose 38570 for laparoscopic retroperitoneal node sampling or biopsy. Choose 38571 when the procedure is a bilateral total pelvic lymphadenectomy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
38571 Pelvic lymphadenectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Wisconsin
Report this service for laparoscopic removal of pelvic lymph nodes on both sides, commonly performed for staging gynecologic malignancies. Compare 38571 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Wisconsin.
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 38571 in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin 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
$551.64
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Wisconsin
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.
Laparoscopic surgery
About 38571: Laparoscopic bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy
Report this service for laparoscopic removal of pelvic lymph nodes on both sides, commonly performed for staging gynecologic malignancies.
This service involves laparoscopic dissection and removal of pelvic lymphatic tissue on both sides, commonly including the external iliac, internal iliac, and obturator nodal regions. Gynecologic oncologists often perform it during operative staging for cancers such as endometrial or cervical cancer. It represents a bilateral lymphadenectomy, not simply sampling one or more nodes for biopsy.
Report the code when the operative note supports a laparoscopic bilateral pelvic nodal dissection; document the approach, nodal regions addressed, and tissue removed. The code is already priced as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included. When related endoscopies are performed together, CMS endoscopy-family pricing applies. CMS allows assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons, but not team surgery.
CMS billing rules for 38571
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- Bilateral procedures
- The code is already priced as bilateral; modifier 50 does not increase payment.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU11.70 · 66%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.49 · 25%
- Malpractice RVU1.67 · 9%
22.4K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1099 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.
38571 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Wisconsin, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
38572 includes peri-aortic node sampling in addition to the bilateral total pelvic dissection represented by 38571.
No office rate
38573 describes bilateral total pelvic lymphadenectomy with peri-aortic lymphadenectomy, a more extensive service than pelvic dissection alone.
Compare 38571 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
Wisconsin →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$551.64
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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 38571 in Wisconsin.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,754
- Code
- 38571
- Physician work
- 11.70
- Practice expense
- 4.49
- Malpractice
- 1.67
GPCI2026.csv
111
- Locality
- Wisconsin
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.958
- Malpractice
- 0.308
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 11.70 | × 1.000 | 11.7000 |
| Practice expense | 4.49 | × 0.958 | 4.3014 |
| Malpractice | 1.67 | × 0.308 | 0.5144 |
| Total RVUs | 16.5158 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Wisconsin$551.64
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 11.7 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 4.49 | 0.958 |
| Malpractice | 1.67 | 0.308 |
(11.7 × 1 + 4.49 × 0.958 + 1.67 × 0.308) × $33.4009 = $551.64
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.
38571 billing questions
How is this different from 38570?
38571 represents bilateral total pelvic lymphadenectomy. Code 38570 is for laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node sampling or biopsy, rather than a total bilateral pelvic dissection.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. The code is already priced as bilateral, and modifier 50 does not increase payment.
Does the code include postoperative visits?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included.
How does 38572 differ?
38572 includes bilateral total pelvic lymphadenectomy with additional peri-aortic lymph node sampling. Use 38571 when the documented procedure is limited to the bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons for this code. Team surgery is not permitted.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should identify the laparoscopic approach, bilateral pelvic dissection, and the nodal tissue removed. A limited node biopsy or sampling alone points to a different service.
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.
4,75138562,,Removal pelvic lymph nodes,A,,10.78,7.02,NA,7.02,,2.25,20.05,20.05,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,2,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75238564,,Removal abdomen lymph nodes,A,,11.10,6.26,NA,6.26,,2.47,19.83,19.83,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75338570,,Laparoscopy lymph node biop,A,,8.28,4.38,NA,4.38,,1.73,14.39,14.39,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,3,0,2,2,0,9,49320,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75438571,,Laparoscopy lymphadenectomy,A,,11.70,4.49,NA,4.49,,1.67,17.86,17.86,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,3,2,2,2,0,9,49320,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75538572,,Laparoscopy lymphadenectomy,A,,15.21,6.59,NA,6.59,,2.92,24.72,24.72,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,3,2,2,2,0,9,49320,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75638573,,Laps pelvic lymphadec,A,,19.50,8.64,NA,8.64,,4.22,32.36,32.36,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,3,2,2,2,0,9,49320,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,75738589,,Unlisted laps px lymphtc sys,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,2,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
10802402,WA,02,SEATTLE (KING CNTY),1.050,1.227,0.817
10902402,WA,99,REST OF WASHINGTON,1.013,1.053,0.761
11011402,WV,16,WEST VIRGINIA,1.000,0.869,1.431
11106302,WI,00,WISCONSIN,1.000,0.958,0.308
11203602,WY,21,WYOMING**,1.000,1.000,0.740
113"MAC Assignments as of November 22, 2023",,,,,,
114,,,,,,