Cardiology Coding Alert

CPT admits 34800 and 34805 are similar -- here's how you can distinguish them. When you report endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, knowing the type of prosthesis the cardiologist placed makes a world of difference in your code choice. Follow these four steps and familiarize yourself with the prosthesis types, and you'll choose the primary code for these procedures in a snap. Step 1: Identify Whether Iliac and Renal Are Involved, Too As an initial step, you should determine if the cardiologist places the prosthesis in the abdominal aorta only, or if a portion of the prosthesis extends into one or more of the iliac (or possibly renal) arteries. As illustrated (Fig. 1), the abdominal aorta branches into the common iliac arteries below the renal arteries. If the abdominal aorta develops an aneurysm, or bulging due to a weakening of the artery walls, the cardiologist may make an incision in [...]