General Surgery Coding Alert

Drop 433.10 beginning Oct. 1.

Carotid artery stenosis might be a common reason your general surgeons perform catheterization or stent procedures, so you’ll need to have more information to accurately report the diagnosis when ICD-10 goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2015.

Do this now:ICD-9 offers two codes for carotid artery stenosis:

• 433.10 — Occlusion and stenosis of carotid artery without cerebral infarction
• 433.11 — Occlusion and stenosis of carotid artery with cerebral infarction.

Do this then:But each of the ICD-9 codes grows to four different code choices under ICD-10. That’s because the new code set accounts for whether the stenosis is in the right, left, unspecified, or bilateral carotid arteries.

If your surgeon doesn’t specify the side, your direct crosswalk for 433.10 will be I65.29 (Occlusion and stenosis of carotid artery without cerebral infarction) under ICD-10. Your other code choices will be as follows, provided that your physicians provide adequate documentation:

• I65.21 — Occlusion and stenosis of right carotid artery, not resulting in cerebral infarction
• I65.22 — Occlusion and stenosis of left carotid artery, not resulting in cerebral infarction
• I65.23 — Occlusion and stenosis of bilateral carotid arteries, not resulting in cerebral infarction.