Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery: what it covers and what it costs
What does a Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery cost? Across 35 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a Carpal Tunnel Surgery (CPT 64721 / 29848) runs from about $729 in Raleigh, NC to $16,576 in Virginia Beach, VA, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 10 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What a Carpal Tunnel Surgery price actually covers
A carpal tunnel release divides the ligament pressing on the median nerve at the wrist. It is a short procedure, usually performed under local or regional anaesthesia, and frequently done outside a hospital entirely.
Code scope. 64721 = open carpal tunnel release (neuroplasty of median nerve at the carpal tunnel); 29848 = endoscopic release. Both included since either approach is a 'carpal tunnel surgery'. Billed per hand.
What is — and isn't — in the price
Where it is done in a hospital or surgery centre, the facility fee covers the procedure room and staff, with the surgeon and any anaesthesia billed separately. Performed in an office procedure room, there may be no facility fee at all — which is why published hospital prices can look high relative to what many patients pay.
Why Carpal Tunnel Surgery prices differ so much between hospitals
Open and endoscopic release are distinct codes. Site of service is the dominant factor: office, ambulatory surgery centre and hospital outpatient department can differ by multiples for the same operation on the same wrist. Bilateral procedures are billed per side.
What else usually lands on the bill
Nerve conduction studies and electromyography almost always precede surgery and are billed separately, sometimes by a neurologist. Post-operative hand therapy is charged per visit by a therapist.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether the procedure is scheduled in an office, a surgery centre or a hospital, and whether the price is per hand. Those two answers usually explain the entire range.
Where the money actually moves
The largest saving is having it done in an office procedure room rather than a hospital operating theatre where clinically appropriate: that removes the facility fee entirely rather than reducing it.
What the Carpal Tunnel Surgery numbers show nationally
A Carpal Tunnel Surgery costs 22.7× as much in Virginia Beach as in Raleigh
Across the 35 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $729 in Raleigh, NC to $16,576 in Virginia Beach, VA — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 2173% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Carpal Tunnel Surgery prices
Lowest: HARPER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Detroit, MI) at $11; ARROWHEAD REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (Riverside, CA) at $317; ST ANTHONY NORTH HEALTH CAMPUS (Denver, CO) at $474. Highest: CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER (Los Angeles, CA) at $27,285; ASCENSION ST VINCENT'S RIVERSIDE (Jacksonville, FL) at $27,040; ADVOCATE LUTHERAN GENERAL HOSPITAL (Chicago, IL) at $17,439. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
10 of 35 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay Carpal Tunnel Surgery price
Cheapest published cash price: $1,454 (Detroit). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 69% below the list price for a Carpal Tunnel Surgery
Across the 11 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 69% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Cincinnati: $14,813 list against $1,975 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a Carpal Tunnel Surgery price
217 hospital price-file entries across 35 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 64721 / 29848 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Carpal Tunnel Surgery price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Carpal Tunnel Surgery, by metro — lowest first. 10 of these 35 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 13 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, NC | $729 | $729–$1,879 | — | 3 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $802 | $802–$1,729 | — | 3 |
| Detroit, MI | $917 | $11–$1,937 | $1,454 | 6 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $1,141 | $959–$2,970 | — | 10 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $1,760 | $1,664–$8,238 | — | 9 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $1,778 | $1,058–$2,382 | $3,765 | 5 |
| Tampa, FL | $1,971 | $1,956–$2,296 | — | 6 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $1,975 | $1,903–$4,487 | $8,888 | 5 |
| Riverside, CA | $2,159 | $317–$3,485 | — | 4 |
| Sacramento, CA | $2,256 | $1,621–$2,256 | $5,124 | 4 |
| San Francisco, CA | $2,256 | $2,256 | $5,124 | 6 |
| Cleveland, OH | $2,393 | $1,484–$2,746 | $8,758 | 9 |
| Buffalo, NY | $2,426 | $721–$3,000 | — | 3 |
| Birmingham, AL | $2,670 | $2,425–$3,368 | — | 4 |
| St. Louis, MO | $3,121 | $1,919–$5,685 | $6,525 | 7 |
| New York, NY | $3,334 | $3,073–$4,952 | $4,595 | 7 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $3,446 | $1,892–$6,446 | — | 11 |
| Seattle, WA | $3,517 | $1,465–$4,712 | $2,892 | 8 |
| Kansas City, MO | $3,740 | $1,128–$4,002 | — | 7 |
| Dallas, TX | $3,813 | $599–$8,360 | — | 10 |
| Washington, DC | $4,024 | $2,600–$7,130 | — | 7 |
| San Diego, CA | $4,125 | $902–$9,549 | $6,837 | 6 |
| San Jose, CA | $4,205 | $2,256–$6,192 | — | 3 |
| Atlanta, GA | $4,350 | $665–$5,262 | — | 7 |
| Nashville, TN | $4,373 | $2,643–$4,950 | — | 9 |
| Houston, TX | $4,690 | $4,359–$4,690 | — | 6 |
| Austin, TX | $4,942 | $1,107–$6,047 | — | 9 |
| Denver, CO | $4,955 | $474–$5,483 | — | 10 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $5,562 | $2,159–$27,285 | — | 5 |
| Portland, OR | $6,145 | $2,127–$6,203 | — | 8 |
| Hartford, CT | $6,248 | $2,335–$7,393 | — | 4 |
| Miami, FL | $6,728 | $6,127–$12,276 | — | 4 |
| Chicago, IL | $8,793 | $8,793–$17,439 | — | 3 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $16,329 | $16,315–$27,040 | — | 3 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $16,576 | $9,132–$16,576 | — | 6 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Carpal Tunnel Surgery cost?
- Across 35 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $3,517, ranging from $729 in Raleigh to $16,576 in Virginia Beach. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 64721 / 29848.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- Where it is done in a hospital or surgery centre, the facility fee covers the procedure room and staff, with the surgeon and any anaesthesia billed separately. Performed in an office procedure room, there may be no facility fee at all — which is why published hospital prices can look high relative to what many patients pay.
- Why do Carpal Tunnel Surgery prices differ so much between hospitals?
- Open and endoscopic release are distinct codes. Site of service is the dominant factor: office, ambulatory surgery centre and hospital outpatient department can differ by multiples for the same operation on the same wrist. Bilateral procedures are billed per side.