Healthcare Insights

Top 25 Procedures Performed at Surgery Centers

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As medical technology advances and guidelines for routine inpatient surgeries are relaxed, physicians are able to perform a greater number of procedures in an outpatient setting.  

This is generally beneficial for patients, as costs at an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) are lower on average than at a hospital or other inpatient facility. While most hospitals offer outpatient surgery, ASCs have been praised as a superior choice for certain procedures.  This preference is due to facility efficiencies and greater regulatory controls for reimbursements under the outpatient prospective payment system. 

Definitive Healthcare tracks nearly 3,000 procedure types performed at over 9,000 ASCs. The following lists rank the top 25 procedures performed at surgery centers by total charges as well as procedure volume.  

Topping the list is Extracapsular cataract removal, CPT code 66984, followed by an injection of onabotulinumtoxinA, HCPCSs code J0585, with nearly 900,000 procedures. OnabotulinumtoxinA is an injectable neurotoxin, better known under brand names such as Botox and Botox Cosmetics. 

Both lists of top procedures, by volume and by total charges, are dominated by diagnostic procedures such as colonoscopies and esophagogastroduodenoscopies with biopsies. Cataracts surgeries also topped both lists, with more than 1.2 million procedures reported in 2018 (most recent data available). Spinal injections were also common, including joint denervations.  

Top 25 Most Performed Procedures at Ambulatory Surgery Centers

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RankHCPCS/CPT CodeHCPCS DescriptionNumber of ProceduresTotal ChargesExplore This Dataset
1. 66984EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT REMOVAL W/ INSERTION OF IO LENS PROSTHESIS W/O ENDOSCOPIC CYCLOPHOTOCOAGULATION1,251,164$1,203,836,786Explore This Profile
2. J0585INJECTION, ONABOTULINUMTOXINA894,793$5,462,609Explore This Profile
3. 43239EGD BIOPSY SINGLE/MULTIPLE527,817$166,052,761Explore This Profile
4. 45380COLONOSCOPY AND BIOPSY459,209$187,755,470Explore This Profile
5. 45385COLONOSCOPY W/LESION REMOVAL409,019$196,440,448Explore This Profile
6. 64483INJ FORAMEN EPIDURAL L/S315,173$98,275,396Explore This Profile
7. 66821AFTER CATARACT LASER SURGERY279,440$67,857,702Explore This Profile
8. 64493INJ PARAVERT F JNT L/S 1 LEV226,368$64,234,232Explore This Profile
9. 62323NJX INTERLAMINAR LMBR/SAC184,148$50,642,428Explore This Profile
10. G0105COLORECTAL SCRN; HI RISK IND138,269$47,348,253Explore This Profile
11. 45378DIAGNOSTIC COLONOSCOPY115,168$36,627,045Explore This Profile
12. 64635DESTROY LUMB/SAC FACET JNT112,369$79,517,957Explore This Profile
13. G0121COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND111,684$38,509,195Explore This Profile
14. J3300TRIAMCINOLONE A INJ PRS-FREE109,465$419,165Explore This Profile
15. G0260INJ FOR SACROILIAC JT ANESTH95,144$22,245,165Explore This Profile
16. 66982COMPLEX REMOVAL OF CATARACT WITH INSERTION OF LENS91,686$88,594,583Explore This Profile
17. 52000CYSTOSCOPY82,909$23,479,992Explore This Profile
18. 64490INJ PARAVERT F JNT C/T 1 LEV75,257$21,967,363Explore This Profile
19. 62321NJX INTERLAMINAR CRV/THRC65,815$18,197,660Explore This Profile
20. 15823REVISION OF UPPER EYELID59,700$36,619,604Explore This Profile
21. 43235EGD DIAGNOSTIC BRUSH WASH59,512$19,254,754Explore This Profile
22. 43248EGD GUIDE WIRE INSERTION50,542$17,342,958Explore This Profile
23. 64721CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY48,889$36,582,656Explore This Profile
24. 26055INCISE FINGER TENDON SHEATH43,294$24,982,443Explore This Profile
25. J7328GELSYN-3 INJECTION 0.1 MG42,349$91,989Explore This Profile

Fig 1. Data from Surgery Centers database based on 2018 Medicare Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited Data Set. Calendar year data is projected to be released each January by the CMS. The most recent data is from calendar year 2018; 2019 data is scheduled to be released in January 2021. Accessed May 2020.

The following list details the top 25 procedures performed at ASCs by total charges. Extracapsular cataract removal, CPT code 66984, had the highest total charges, followed by the insertion or replacement of spinal neurostimulator pulse generator, CPT code 63685, with $259.3 million in total charges. 

Top 25 Procedures Performed at Surgery Centers by Total Charges

Definitive's Healthcare Insights are developed with data from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a Free Trial now and get access to the highest quality data and intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.

RankHCPCS/CPT CodeHCPCS DescriptionNumber of ProceduresTotal ChargesExplore This Dataset
1. 66984EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT REMOVAL W/ INSERTION OF IO LENS PROSTHESIS W/O ENDOSCOPIC CYCLOPHOTOCOAGULATION1,251,164$1,203,836,786Explore This Profile
2. 63685INSRT/REDO SPINE N GENERATOR11,325$259,397,185Explore This Profile
3. 45385COLONOSCOPY W/LESION REMOVAL409,019$196,440,448Explore This Profile
4. 45380COLONOSCOPY AND BIOPSY459,209$187,755,470Explore This Profile
5. 63650IMPLANT NEUROELECTRODES40,151$185,590,750Explore This Profile
6. 43239EGD BIOPSY SINGLE/MULTIPLE527,817$166,052,761Explore This Profile
7. 64483INJ FORAMEN EPIDURAL L/S315,173$98,275,396Explore This Profile
8. 0191TINSERT ANT SEGMENT DRAIN INT36,510$94,373,543Explore This Profile
9. 66982COMPLEX REMOVAL OF CATARACT WITH INSERTION OF LENS91,686$88,594,583Explore This Profile
10. 64635DESTROY LUMB/SAC FACET JNT112,369$79,517,957Explore This Profile
11. 66821AFTER CATARACT LASER SURGERY279,440$67,857,702Explore This Profile
12. 64493INJ PARAVERT F JNT L/S 1 LEV226,368$64,234,232Explore This Profile
13. 29827ARTHROSCOP ROTATOR CUFF REPR25,897$63,564,800Explore This Profile
14. 64590INSRT/REDO PN/GASTR STIMUL3,246$51,779,518Explore This Profile
15. 62323NJX INTERLAMINAR LMBR/SAC184,148$50,642,428Explore This Profile
16. 36902INTRO CATH DIALYSIS CIRCUIT18,446$47,501,204Explore This Profile
17. G0105COLORECTAL SCRN; HI RISK IND138,269$47,348,253Explore This Profile
18. C9740CYSTO IMPL 4 OR MORE6,628$41,130,006Explore This Profile
19. G0121COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND111,684$38,509,195Explore This Profile
20. V2785CORNEAL TISSUE PROCESSING9,630$37,718,222Explore This Profile
21. 45378DIAGNOSTIC COLONOSCOPY115,168$36,627,045Explore This Profile
22. 15823REVISION OF UPPER EYELID59,700$36,619,604Explore This Profile
23. 64721CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY48,889$36,582,656Explore This Profile
24. 22869INSJ STABLJ DEV W/O DCMPRN2,649$32,414,982Explore This Profile
25. 29881KNEE ARTHROSCOPY/SURGERY23,628$29,793,651Explore This Profile

Fig 2. Data from Surgery Centers database based on 2018 Medicare Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited Data Set. Calendar year data is projected to be released each January by the CMS. The most recent data is from calendar year 2018; 2019 data is scheduled to be released in January 2021. Accessed May 2020.