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Hardware Removal, ACL and Small Orthopedic Surgery Costs

9 min readUpdated August 2026Typical 2026 ranges, not quotes
Bottom line

The mid-size orthopedic procedures people price most often, ACL reconstruction, hardware removal, cubital tunnel release, AC joint repair, clavicle fixation, and cartilage restoration, run $2,500 to $16,000 cash-pay all-in in the US, with ACL reconstruction posted at $7,931 all-inclusive by Surgery Center of Oklahoma. At accredited Colombian hospitals the same procedures typically run $900 to $7,500. MACI cartilage implantation is the outlier at $30,000 to $50,000 in the US and limited availability abroad.

Knee and hip replacement get their own guides. This page covers the next tier down: outpatient and short-stay orthopedic surgery that is common, elective, and priced all over the map. All figures are typical 2026 ranges; US floors are transparent-center posted prices where they exist.

Typical 2026 prices

Mid-size orthopedic procedures

All-in typical 2026, cash-pay
Line itemUSAColombia
ACL reconstructionautograft, arthroscopic$7,931 – $15,000$4,000 – $7,000
Meniscus repair or partial meniscectomyarthroscopic$5,500 – $10,000$2,500 – $4,500
Hardware removalplates and screws, one limb$3,500 – $8,000$1,500 – $3,200
Cubital tunnel releaseulnar nerve at elbow$3,000 – $6,500$1,200 – $2,500
Carpal tunnel releaseone hand$2,500 – $5,000$900 – $1,800
AC joint repairacromioclavicular separation, grade 3+$8,000 – $15,000$3,500 – $6,500
Clavicle fracture fixationORIF, plate$8,000 – $18,000$3,500 – $7,000
Rotator cuff repairarthroscopic$8,000 – $16,000$4,000 – $7,500
Osteochondroma excisionbenign bone tumor$5,000 – $12,000$2,000 – $4,500
Osteotomyhigh tibial or distal femoral, realignment$12,000 – $25,000$5,500 – $10,000
MACI cartilage implantationtwo-stage, implant $20,000+$30,000 – $50,000limited availability
Lisfranc or ankle fracture fixationORIF$9,000 – $20,000$4,000 – $8,000
All-in typical range$2,500 – $50,000$900 – $10,000
ACL floor is Surgery Center of Oklahoma's posted all-inclusive price. Colombia figures are accredited-hospital and ambulatory-center ranges, moderate confidence. MACI (autologous cultured chondrocytes) is FDA-approved in the US; comparable cell-based cartilage products are not widely offered in Colombia, where microfracture and osteochondral grafting are the usual alternatives. Spokes: orthopedicsurgery.co, jointreplacements.co.

Hardware removal: the procedure people forget to budget for

Plates, screws, and nails placed for fractures are often left in permanently, but removal is common when hardware is prominent under thin skin (clavicle, ankle, wrist), causes pain, or in younger patients. It is usually outpatient under general or regional anesthesia, 30 to 90 minutes, and the price is driven by anesthesia and facility rather than the surgeon. If your fracture surgery was done abroad or years ago, bring the operative report: the surgeon needs to know the implant system to have the right screwdrivers. Colombian pricing of $1,500 to $3,200 makes this one of the clearest travel wins on this page for anyone already planning a trip.

ACL: what the $7,931 includes

A transparent all-inclusive ACL price covers surgeon, facility, anesthesia, the arthroscopic procedure with autograft (your own hamstring, patellar tendon, or quadriceps tendon), and routine follow-up. It does not include an allograft (donor tendon, $1,000 to $3,000 extra), the pre-op MRI, a brace, or physical therapy, which for ACL is 4 to 9 months and $2,000 to $8,000 self-pay in the US. Colombian quotes are similarly structured but therapy costs $15 to $30 per session. Meniscus repair done at the same time adds $1,500 to $3,000 in the US and $600 to $1,200 in Colombia.

Trauma vs elective

Clavicle, ankle, and Lisfranc fixation are usually done within days of injury and are not travel procedures; the cost levers are the self-pay discount and the ambulatory-center price where the fracture allows. ACL, meniscus, cubital and carpal tunnel, AC joint reconstruction, hardware removal, osteochondroma excision, and osteotomy are elective and travel well, with 7 to 12 days in country and rehabilitation continued at home.

What changes the number

Credentials to verify before booking in Colombia. Surgeon license on ReTHUS, the national health-professional registry; specialty board membership (SCCOT for orthopedics and traumatology, ACC for general surgery, SCCP for plastic surgery); and the name of the hospital where the procedure is performed. JCI accreditation applies to hospitals, never to standalone clinics.

Why Colombia keeps appearing in these tables. The World Health Organization's 2000 World Health Report ranked Colombia's health system #22 in the world and #1 in the Western Hemisphere, ahead of the United States and Canada. That report has not been repeated, so for current verification pair it with two live anchors: JCI accreditation (a hospital-level credential; standalone clinics are not JCI-accredited) and ReTHUS, Colombia's national health-professional registry at rethus.gov.co, where any surgeon's license can be checked.

Get an itemized orthopedic quote

Send your MRI or X-ray report and the procedure. Our Medellín-based team routes to SCCOT-certified orthopedic surgeons at accredited Colombian hospitals and returns itemized quotes within 48 hours.

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Frequently Asked

How much does ACL surgery cost?

$7,931 all-inclusive at a transparent US surgery center, $10,000 to $15,000 at hospital self-pay rates, and $4,000 to $7,000 at an accredited Colombian hospital. Physical therapy afterward is a separate cost in both.

How much does hardware removal surgery cost?

$3,500 to $8,000 US cash-pay for plate and screw removal from one limb; $1,500 to $3,200 in Colombia. Outpatient, driven by anesthesia and facility cost.

How much does cubital tunnel surgery cost?

$3,000 to $6,500 US cash-pay; $1,200 to $2,500 in Colombia. Often done under regional anesthesia at an ambulatory center.

How much does MACI knee surgery cost?

$30,000 to $50,000 in the US, of which the cultured cartilage implant itself is $20,000 or more. It is a two-stage procedure. Equivalent cell-based products are not widely available in Colombia; microfracture and osteochondral grafting are the usual alternatives there.

Which orthopedic surgeries are worth traveling for?

Elective procedures above roughly $3,000 US cash: ACL, rotator cuff, AC joint, osteotomy, hardware removal, and joint replacement. Fracture fixation is time-critical and not a travel procedure.

Related Cost Guides

Editorial disclosure: Surgery Cost publishes independent price research. When readers request quotes through our Colombia partner network at Colombia Medical, we may receive a referral fee from participating clinics. Referral fees do not influence pricing shown or which providers we list. All figures are typical 2026 market ranges, not binding quotes. Request an itemized written estimate before booking any procedure. Nothing here is medical advice.