Decompression fasciotomy of the anterior and/or lateral compartments of the leg, including debridement of nonviable muscle and/or nerve tissue

Verified May 8, 2026 · 6 sources ↓

Medicare: $518.05
Work RVU: 7.74
Global, days: 90
Region: Foot & ankle

Drawn from CMSAAPCAbosAacpmMdclarity

Documentation requirements

What must appear in the operative or office note to support the claim.

Source · Editorial brief grounded in 6 cited references ↓

Specify which compartments were released — anterior, lateral, or both — not just 'leg fasciotomy'
Document intracompartmental pressure measurements or clinical findings supporting compartment syndrome diagnosis
Describe extent of debridement: identify which muscle groups or nerve tissue were found nonviable and resected
Record wound management at closure — open, vacuum-assisted, primary closure — as this affects staged procedure coding for subsequent visits
Note laterality (left vs. right leg) to support LT/RT modifier assignment
If posterior compartments were also opened, document explicitly so 27894 can be justified over 27892

Applicable modifiers

Modifiers commonly billed with this code.

Source · AMA CPT modifier descriptors · CMS NCCI Policy Manual

22 Increased complexity 50 Bilateral procedure 51 Multiple procedures 58 Staged or related 59 Distinct service 76 Repeat, same physician 78 Unplanned return — related 79 Unrelated during global 80 Assistant surgeon LT Left side RT Right side

What this code covers

Source · Editorial summary grounded in 6 cited references ↓

27892 covers a leg fasciotomy limited to the anterior and/or lateral compartments, performed when elevated intracompartmental pressure threatens muscle and nerve viability — most often from acute compartment syndrome following trauma, crush injury, or reperfusion. The fascial release is combined with debridement of any nonviable muscle or nerve encountered. That debridement component is what separates 27892 from 27600, which covers the same compartments without debridement.

Code selection within the 27892–27894 family turns entirely on which compartments are opened. Posterior compartment(s) only maps to 27893. All compartments — anterior/lateral plus posterior — maps to 27894. Don't report 27892 and 27893 together when all compartments are released in a single operative session; use 27894 instead. The thigh fasciotomy codes (27496–27499) are anatomically distinct; a combined thigh and calf fasciotomy on the same leg requires codes from both families.

The global period is 90 days. Return-to-OR for wound closure, skin grafting, or re-debridement within that window is common given the open wound management typical of compartment syndrome treatment. A planned staged closure or grafting is modifier 58. An unplanned return for a related complication is modifier 78. An unrelated procedure in the global window is modifier 79.

RVU & reimbursement

Component RVUs and Medicare national rate. Actual payment varies by GPCI locality.

Source · CMS Physician Fee Schedule, RVU26A · January 2026

Work RVU vs. total RVU

The work RVU (7.74) is the surgeon's own effort — the figure physician pay and productivity targets are built on. The total RVU (15.51) adds practice overhead and malpractice, and is what drives the Medicare payment below.

Work RVU	7.74
Practice expense RVU	6.14
Malpractice RVU	1.63
Total RVU	15.51
Medicare national rate	$518.05
Global period	90 days

Payment by site of service

Medicare pays different rates by setting. HOPD typically pays substantially more than ASC for the same procedure.

Source · CMS OPPS Addendum B·ASC HCPCS payment rates·2026

Setting	Medicare rate (national)
Office (PFS non-facility) Procedure performed in physician's office	$518.05
HOPD (APC 5113) Hospital outpatient department	$3,342.87
ASC (PI A2) Ambulatory surgical center (freestanding)	$1,644.87

Common denial reasons

The recurring reasons claims for CPT 27892 get rejected.

Source · Editorial brief grounded in CMS NCCI edits, AAOS coding appeals, and cited references ↓

Upcoding flag when 27892 is billed without documented debridement of nonviable tissue — payers downcode to 27600
Bundling denial when 27892 and 27893 are reported together for same-session all-compartment release — should be 27894
Missing laterality modifier causing edit on bilateral or multi-claim submissions
Global period conflict when wound closure or re-debridement is billed without modifier 58 or 78 during the 90-day window
Diagnosis mismatch — ICD-10 code not clearly supporting acute or chronic compartment syndrome of the lower leg

Frequently asked questions

Source · Generated from the editorial pipeline, verified against 6 cited references ↓

01What's the difference between 27892 and 27600?

Both cover anterior and/or lateral compartment fasciotomy of the leg. 27892 requires debridement of nonviable muscle and/or nerve. 27600 is the release-only code with no debridement component. If the operative note doesn't document tissue debridement, payers will downcode 27892 to 27600.

02Can 27892 and 27893 be billed together for a four-compartment release?

No. When all compartments — anterior, lateral, and posterior — are released in one session, report 27894. Billing 27892 and 27893 together for the same leg on the same date triggers a bundling edit.

03How do you code a fasciotomy that includes both the thigh and the calf on the same leg?

Thigh fasciotomy codes (27496–27499) and calf fasciotomy codes (27892–27894) are anatomically distinct. A combined thigh and calf procedure on the same leg requires one code from each family, appended with modifier 59 or an X modifier to establish separate anatomic sites.

04What modifier applies when the patient returns for wound closure or skin grafting after an open fasciotomy?

Use modifier 58 — staged or related procedure by the same physician — when closure or grafting was planned or anticipated at the time of the initial fasciotomy. Modifier 78 applies only to an unplanned return for a related complication.

05Is modifier 50 appropriate for bilateral leg fasciotomies?

Yes, if both legs are released in the same operative session. Alternatively, report 27892 twice with LT and RT modifiers on separate lines — confirm which format your payer prefers, as some commercial payers reject the 50 modifier on surgical codes and require separate line billing.

06Does the 90-day global period affect post-op E/M billing for wound checks?

Routine wound checks related to the fasciotomy are bundled into the 90-day global. To bill an E/M during the global period for an unrelated condition, append modifier 24. For a new problem that requires a significant, separately identifiable visit, append modifier 25 — but that applies pre-operatively on the day of surgery, not post-op E/M in a global period.

Sources & references

Editorial content was developed using the following public sources. Last verified May 8, 2026.

Mira Scribe

Mira's AI scribe captures which specific compartments were entered, the intracompartmental pressure readings or clinical signs documented pre-incision, and the surgeon's description of muscle or nerve tissue debrided. It also flags whether the wound was left open for staged closure — preventing denials that arise when a subsequent closure visit is billed without modifier 58, or when the operative note omits debridement detail and payers downcode to 27600.

See how Mira captures CPT 27892 documentation