Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Question: My ophthalmologist removed a 6.5-mm section of the lateral rectus muscle of a patient's left eye and resected the muscle to strengthen it and correct strabismus. He then repeated the procedure on the right eye, again removing 6.5 mm of the lateral rectus muscle and then resecting it. Is 67312 the correct code to report because the ophthalmologist performed a resection procedure on two horizontal muscles? Georgia SubscriberAnswer: You should not report code 67312 (Strabismus surgery, recession or resection procedure; two horizontal muscles) for resection of one horizontal muscle (lateral rectus). The CPT codes in the strabismus surgery section (67311-67318) refer to the number of muscles operated on in the same eye (unilateral service). When surgery on both eyes is performed on the same number of muscles, you may report the code with bilateral modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure).Note: Some carriers still prefer reporting the code with modifier LT (Left [...]