Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: Our orthopedist inserted a nonabsorbable antibiotic bead under the patient's subcutaneous tissue to decrease infection following surgery. How should we report the bead insertion?

North Dakota Subscriber

Answer: You should report 11981 (Insertion, non-biodegradable drug delivery implant) because your physician inserted a bead that he must later remove.

If the orthopedic surgeon inserts a biodegradable bead, however, you cannot separately report the insertion. Instead, insurers bundle the bead insertion into the primary surgery that the surgeon performs on that date.