Orthopedic Coding Alert

Compartment, incision, size of foreign body are your guides.Coding chondroplasties with primary procedures can be a real challenge, especially if you're reporting arthroscopic chondroplasties with removal of foreign or loose bodies in the knee. Understanding when and how to report these procedures together will enhance your claims success. Don't Lean On Modifier 59 You will turn to CPT® code 29877 (Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; debridement/shaving of articular cartilage [chondroplasty]) to report an arthroscopic chondroplasty which your surgeon does in the medial, lateral, and/or patellofemoral compartment(s). You, however, need to exercise caution that you report code 29877 only once per session of surgery and only when your surgeon does the chondroplasty in a compartment different from that of the primary surgical procedure. Caveat: You no longer append modifier 59 (Distinct procedural service) to indicate that your surgeon did the chondroplasty in a compartment different from that of the primary surgical procedure. The [...]