A Comparison of Relative Value Units in Primary Versus Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty

Orthopedic surgeons are reimbursed at a higher rate per minute for primary cases compared to revision TKA (0.26 vs 0.22, P < .001). The annual difference can amount to nearly $140,000. Orthopedic surgeons can use this information to better understand the dynamics of their time, compensation, and ultimately, their practice. Furthermore, it can be argued that there needs to be a shift to increase the RVU per unit time for revision TKAs.