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Sealing A Fluid Pocket With An Injected Solution

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 49185

A needle or fine tube is passed through the skin into a pocket of fluid such as a cyst, a collection of lymph fluid, or a seroma left after surgery, with imaging used to guide it and contrast injected first to show the size and shape of the pocket. A solution is then injected that irritates the lining so the pocket scars down and stops refilling. It can be done wherever such a collection forms, not only in the abdomen or pelvis.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Sealing A Fluid Pocket With An Injected Solution cost?

$2,193

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $2,193 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $1,096 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,096 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$1,096$302 to $2,188
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,096$562 to $1,479

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,096 · 10th to 90th $324 to $2,455Professionalmedian $1,096 · 10th to 90th $158 to $2,692
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $1,096professional $1,096

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$7,244.36
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$114.82
Median
$831.76
Typical High
$1,348.96
Ambetter
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$112.20
Median
$112.20
Typical High
$112.20
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$977.24
Median
$1,445.44
Typical High
$1,949.84
BCBS North Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$1,122.02
Typical High
$2,951.21
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$1,230.27
Typical High
$1,995.26
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$154.88
Median
$416.87
Typical High
$1,778.28
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,090.30
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$3,090.30
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$186.21
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$1,288.25
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,174.90
Median
$1,318.26
Typical High
$1,318.26
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$524.81
Typical High
$2,818.38
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$120.23
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$1,548.82
6 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$57.54
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$630.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$22.91
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$257.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$87.10
Median
$776.25
Typical High
$954.99
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$17.38
Median
$154.88
Typical High
$190.55
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$11.48
Median
$102.33
Typical High
$128.82
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
51 · Multiple procedures
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$660.69
Typical High
$660.69

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 5.5 times more in Hawaii than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility fee

North Carolina· 25th of 51

$2,193

$1,096 physician + $1,096 facility

HI $4,440MD $808

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.