HRHospitalRates.comCompare prices

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

Complete removal of the armpit lymph nodes

CPT 38745the billing code this page is about

Surgery to remove the full set of lymph nodes from the underarm, including the deeper groups.

Hospitals typically charge $3,489 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 571 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $4,024. Most fall between $1,414 and $9,060 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
571
States
48
Filings dated
Mar 2023 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 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 571 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
$977$1,658$3,489$7,737$14,633

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($977 vs $14,633).

How the prices are spread

$850 – $1,175: 51 hospitals$850$1,175 – $1,623: 54 hospitals$1,623 – $2,244: 93 hospitals$1,623$2,244 – $3,101: 54 hospitals$3,101 – $4,285: 47 hospitals$3,101$4,285 – $5,922: 44 hospitals$5,922 – $8,184: 72 hospitals$5,922$8,184 – $11,310: 38 hospitals$11,310 – $15,630: 43 hospitals$11,310$15,630 – $21,600: 19 hospitals$15,630median $3,489price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (515 of 571 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$850$1,17551
$1,175$1,62354
$1,623$2,24493
$2,244$3,10154
$3,101$4,28547
$4,285$5,92244
$5,922$8,18472
$8,184$11,31038
$11,310$15,63043
$15,630$21,60019

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$6,176
Median cash price$3,489
Cash as a multiple of Medicare0.56×

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 $3,489.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,883 across 11 hospitalsWA$1,883Idaho: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: median $5,815 across 20 hospitalsMN$5,815Illinois: median $1,737 across 21 hospitalsIL$1,737Wisconsin: median $4,131 across 31 hospitalsWI$4,131Michigan: median $2,323 across 34 hospitalsMI$2,323New York: median $2,691 across 37 hospitalsNY$2,691Massachusetts: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $2,090 across 17 hospitalsOR$2,090Nevada: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $2,150 across 25 hospitalsIA$2,150Indiana: median $1,514 across 15 hospitalsIN$1,514Ohio: median $2,049 across 22 hospitalsOH$2,049Pennsylvania: median $2,266 across 24 hospitalsPA$2,266New Jersey: median $6,458 across 32 hospitalsNJ$6,458Connecticut: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: median $14,510 across 40 hospitalsCA$14,510Utah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $3,876 across 17 hospitalsMO$3,876Kentucky: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $993 across 14 hospitalsWV$993Virginia: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $1,022 across 10 hospitalsKS$1,022Arkansas: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $1,698 across 14 hospitalsOK$1,698Louisiana: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $9,791 across 10 hospitalsGA$9,791Hawaii: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $6,043 across 25 hospitalsTX$6,043Florida: median $3,606 across 10 hospitalsFL$3,606
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $3,489. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
California CA40$14,510+316%$2,392 – $16,019
Georgia GA10$9,791+181%$4,712 – $9,791
New Jersey NJ32$6,458+85%$4,881 – $7,785
Texas TX25$6,043+73%$5,574 – $8,072
Minnesota MN20$5,815+67%$1,868 – $5,815
Wisconsin WI31$4,131+18%$3,489 – $7,286
Missouri MO17$3,876+11%$1,297 – $14,633
Florida FL10$3,606+3%$2,266 – $8,876
New York NY37$2,691−23%$1,434 – $6,904
Michigan MI34$2,323−33%$1,289 – $8,313
Pennsylvania PA24$2,266−35%$284 – $10,994
Iowa IA25$2,150−38%$1,635 – $2,160
Oregon OR17$2,090−40%$1,628 – $2,572
Ohio OH22$2,049−41%$1,000 – $18,171
Washington WA11$1,883−46%$1,498 – $4,061
Illinois IL21$1,737−50%$1,112 – $8,189
Oklahoma OK14$1,698−51%$1,698 – $11,895
Indiana IN15$1,514−57%$1,112 – $4,501
Kansas KS10$1,022−71%$285 – $1,680
West Virginia WV14$993−72%$957 – $10,173
Idaho ID9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not 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 $3,489.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care436$4,043$1,514 – $10,173
Children’s6fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access127$2,160$1,301 – $4,558
Ownership
For-profit53$7,508$1,294 – $15,555
Government93$2,434$1,514 – $6,904
Non-profit423$3,489$1,363 – $9,048
System affiliation
Part of a system442$3,786$1,504 – $9,791
Independent129$2,049$1,376 – $5,500

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$3,378
Median cash price$3,489
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. 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

301 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,150 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,564; most fall between $1,112 and $7,286.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 301 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
$874$1,297$2,150$5,815$13,931

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 16× what the cheapest tenth charges ($874 vs $13,931).

Of the 330 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 301 gave a usable cash price; 18 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 11 a list price only.

How complete is this

571 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (14%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 632 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted571
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here44
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded3
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded13
Hospitals that filed this code632

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 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 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 Axillary Lymphadenectomy Complete.

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, “Complete removal of the armpit lymph nodes (CPT 38745) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38745-complete-removal-of-the-armpit-lymph-nodes