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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system

Surgery on lymph channels

CPT 38308the billing code this page is about

An operation that cuts into or otherwise treats the lymphatic channels, such as for chronic swelling of a limb.

Hospitals typically charge $2,759 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 308 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,801. Most fall between $774 and $5,110 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
308
States
41
Filings dated
Jun 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 308 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
$661$872$2,759$4,992$8,246

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($661 vs $8,246).

How the prices are spread

$474 – $650: 13 hospitals$474$650 – $891: 53 hospitals$891 – $1,222: 37 hospitals$891$1,222 – $1,675: 11 hospitals$1,675 – $2,296: 18 hospitals$1,675$2,296 – $3,148: 26 hospitals$3,148 – $4,316: 20 hospitals$3,148$4,316 – $5,917: 73 hospitals$5,917 – $8,112: 12 hospitals$5,917$8,112 – $11,122: 27 hospitals$8,112median $2,759price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (290 of 308 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$474$65013
$650$89153
$891$1,22237
$1,222$1,67511
$1,675$2,29618
$2,296$3,14826
$3,148$4,31620
$4,316$5,91773
$5,917$8,11212
$8,112$11,12227

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$4,000
Median cash price$2,759
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.69×

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 $2,759.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $748 across 12 hospitalsIL$748Wisconsin: median $3,041 across 19 hospitalsWI$3,041Michigan: median $734 across 26 hospitalsMI$734New York: median $4,531 across 21 hospitalsNY$4,531Massachusetts: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $872 across 10 hospitalsOR$872Nevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 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 $1,114 across 15 hospitalsIA$1,114Indiana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureOHPennsylvania: median $5,649 across 14 hospitalsPA$5,649New Jersey: median $4,627 across 29 hospitalsNJ$4,627Connecticut: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $11,122 across 34 hospitalsCA$11,122Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVAMaryland: 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: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceNMKansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 4 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 $774 across 13 hospitalsOK$774Louisiana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMSAlabama: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceGAHawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: median $4,570 across 18 hospitalsTX$4,570Florida: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,759. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA34$11,122+303%$4,992 – $11,122
Pennsylvania PA14$5,649+105%$1,020 – $8,246
New Jersey NJ29$4,627+68%$4,238 – $5,339
Texas TX18$4,570+66%$4,570 – $4,570
New York NY21$4,531+64%$1,443 – $4,531
Wisconsin WI19$3,041+10%$2,205 – $3,041
Iowa IA15$1,114−60%$1,114 – $1,114
Oregon OR10$872−68%$872 – $1,110
Oklahoma OK13$774−72%$774 – $774
Illinois IL12$748−73%$355 – $1,114
Michigan MI26$734−73%$734 – $3,041
Florida FL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Ohio OH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not 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 $2,759.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care256$3,075$774 – $5,110
Children’s8fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access43$1,870$811 – $3,041
Ownership
For-profit28$2,682$656 – $5,649
Government35$1,609$811 – $4,531
Non-profit244$3,041$774 – $5,110
System affiliation
Part of a system265$3,041$774 – $5,110
Independent43$1,128$729 – $3,844

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,896
Median cash price$2,759
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

190 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,870 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,472; most fall between $774 and $4,992.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 190 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
$474$791$1,870$4,992$11,122

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 23× what the cheapest tenth charges ($474 vs $11,122).

Of the 205 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 190 gave a usable cash price; 9 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 6 a list price only.

How complete is this

308 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 338 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted308
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) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded8
Hospitals that filed this code338

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, hemic and lymphatic system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Lymphangiotomy/Oth Oprations Lymphatic Channels.

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, “Surgery on lymph channels (CPT 38308) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38308-surgery-on-lymph-channels