Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Balloon and cement? Identify technique, levels and regions to recoup full payment.When your surgeon repairs a fractured vertebra percutaneously with "bone cement" (eg, polymethylmethacrylate), you will need to check the op note to determine if the procedure involved only "cement" placement or if the physician used a balloon or other mechanical device to create a cavity before placing the "cement". Your surgeon may do this to stabilize the spine fracture and reduce pain. These are two different procedures, though both involve "cement" placement into the fractured vertebra through small, minimally invasive percutaneous incisions under imaging guidance. Distinguish Vertebroplasty From Kyphoplasty One key to accurate vertebral fracture coding is understanding how vertebroplasty is different from kyphoplasty. Both involve "bone cement" placement. In kyphoplasty, the "cement" is placed after inflating a balloon to create room for the cement in a collapsed vertebral fracture. Vertebroplasty: This involves injection of bone cement under pressure [...]