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CPT 15734: Trunk-Derived Muscle/Myocutaneous/Fasciocutaneous Flap
CPT code 15734 denotes the surgical creation and placement of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap harvested from the trunk to cover defects. This reconstructive procedure is used in cases of traumatic injury, wound disruption, infection-related tissue loss, or after resection of diseased tissue where primary closure is not feasible. Nationally, flap reconstruction from the trunk is an important component of complex wound care and reconstructive surgery owing to its role in restoring form and function and preventing further complications.
Key payers included in this overview are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, United Healthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise clinical context for the procedure, commonly associated diagnosis types, and related CPT codes to aid coding and clinical documentation. The publication outlines typical sites of service and the service type, highlights commonly encountered clinical indications, and identifies related procedural codes for head/neck, upper extremity, lower extremity, and breast reconstruction to support clinical-coding alignment.
This summary is intended for a national audience of clinicians, coding professionals, and policy analysts seeking a clear reference for CPT code 15734, its clinical application, and where it sits among related reconstructive procedure codes.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 15734 describes the development and placement of a muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap harvested from the trunk to cover a surgical or traumatic defect elsewhere on the patient's body. The procedure involves elevating tissue with its blood supply from the trunk (area between the neck and the waist) and transferring it to close or reconstruct a defect.
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Service type: Surgical reconstructive flap procedure
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Typical site of service: Operating room or other procedural surgical setting where complex soft-tissue reconstruction is performed
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National means cluster with BUCA’s average commercial rate at $2,625.10 notably higher than Medicare’s mean of $1,405.70, so commercial arrangements on average pay roughly $1,219.40 more than Medicare for CPT 15734. This gap highlights a material premium in commercial markets versus the Medicare baseline, with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna showing higher mean levels that pull the overall commercial average upward.
Dispersion measured by the interquartile range (P75 minus P25) varies meaningfully across payers: Blue Cross Blue Shield is the widest with a spread of $3,221.70, while Aetna is the tightest among the listed commercial payers with a spread of $1,260.00. UnitedHealth Group and Cigna show moderate dispersion at $1,328.00 and $1,598.90 respectively, and BUCA’s IQR is $2,440.90. Medicare’s local spread is narrow at $107.00, indicating much tighter locality-based clustering around its mean.