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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons

Freeing of scarred tendons in lower leg or ankle, multiple

CPT 27681the billing code this page is about

Surgery through one or more incisions to release several bending or straightening tendons of the lower leg or ankle from scar tissue so they can glide again.

Hospitals typically charge $2,897 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 321 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,828. Most fall between $937 and $5,507 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
321
States
44
Filings dated
Jan 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 23, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 321 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$667$1,062$2,897$4,499$7,969

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($667 vs $7,969).

How the prices are spread

$444 – $608: 11 hospitals$444$608 – $833: 13 hospitals$833 – $1,141: 47 hospitals$833$1,141 – $1,563: 33 hospitals$1,563 – $2,140: 23 hospitals$1,563$2,140 – $2,932: 19 hospitals$2,932 – $4,015: 54 hospitals$2,932$4,015 – $5,500: 37 hospitals$5,500 – $7,533: 23 hospitals$5,500$7,533 – $10,317: 30 hospitals$7,533median $2,897price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (290 of 321 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$444$60811
$608$83313
$833$1,14147
$1,141$1,56333
$1,563$2,14023
$2,140$2,93219
$2,932$4,01554
$4,015$5,50037
$5,500$7,53323
$7,533$10,31730

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$3,343
Median cash price$2,897
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.87×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $2,897.

Alaska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $983 across 14 hospitalsIL$983Wisconsin: median $3,442 across 20 hospitalsWI$3,442Michigan: median $1,430 across 16 hospitalsMI$1,430New York: median $3,840 across 22 hospitalsNY$3,840Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureORNevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $1,279 across 15 hospitalsIA$1,279Indiana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $1,833 across 12 hospitalsOH$1,833Pennsylvania: median $390 across 18 hospitalsPA$390New Jersey: median $4,881 across 29 hospitalsNJ$4,881Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $7,969 across 24 hospitalsCA$7,969Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $841 across 14 hospitalsOK$841Louisiana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $5,507 across 10 hospitalsGA$5,507Hawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: median $4,040 across 21 hospitalsTX$4,040Florida: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,897. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA24$7,969+175%$7,969 – $7,969
Georgia GA10$5,507+90%$5,507 – $10,317
New Jersey NJ29$4,881+68%$3,594 – $9,532
Texas TX21$4,040+39%$1,805 – $4,040
New York NY22$3,840+33%$3,343 – $3,884
Wisconsin WI20$3,442+19%$2,530 – $3,442
Ohio OH12$1,833−37%$1,072 – $1,921
Michigan MI16$1,430−51%$1,061 – $4,499
Iowa IA15$1,279−56%$1,279 – $1,279
Illinois IL14$983−66%$396 – $2,186
Oklahoma OK14$841−71%$841 – $6,615
Pennsylvania PA18$390−87%$318 – $5,486
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Oregon OR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $2,897.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care266$3,343$949 – $5,741
Children’s10fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access45$2,530$824 – $3,442
Ownership
For-profit37$3,208$906 – $6,361
Government46$1,457$920 – $3,840
Non-profit238$3,442$949 – $5,741
System affiliation
Part of a system261$3,442$949 – $6,311
Independent60$1,411$914 – $3,553

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,594
Median cash price$2,897
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

181 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,857 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,492; most fall between $884 and $5,507.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 181 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$719$949$1,857$4,040$7,969

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($719 vs $7,969).

Of the 200 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 181 gave a usable cash price; 14 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 5 a list price only.

How complete is this

321 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (8%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 349 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted321
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here21
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded7
Hospitals that filed this code349

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 23, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 23, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other therapeutic procedures on muscles and tendons family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Tnols Flxr/Xtnsr Tdn Leg&/Ankle Mlt Tdn.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Freeing of scarred tendons in lower leg or ankle, multiple (CPT 27681) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-27681-freeing-of-scarred-tendons-in-lower-leg-or-ankle-multiple