General Surgery Coding Alert
Check 'Strangulation' for Hernia Repair
Question: Our surgeon carried out an open umbilical hernia repair for a 15-year-old patient. The tissue removed was identified as a portion of incarcerated omentum and fibroadipose tissue compatible with a hernia sac. What are the correct procedure and diagnosis codes?
The incarcerated omentum also provides a valuable clue for selecting the procedure code. You should report 49587 (Repair umbilical hernia, age 5 years or older; incarcerated or strangulated). This is the correct code for an open (not laparoscopic) umbilical hernia repair.
Kentucky Subscriber
Answer: The correct diagnosis code is 552.1 (Umbilical hernia with obstruction). Because the surgeon removes a portion of incarcerated omentum, you know that the hernia involves an obstruction. Also there is no mention of gangrene. For those reasons, you would not report either of the following diagnosis codes:
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