Orthopedic Coding Alert
Always Check Codes Before Counting Synovectomy Compartments
Question: The orthopedist completed a three-compartment major synovectomy, medial and lateral meniscectomy, and PF chondroplasty. How do I code the encounter?
Wyoming Subscriber
Answer: Selecting codes for the meniscectomy and chondroplasty is simple: Report 29880 (Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy [medial and lateral, including any meniscal shaving]…) and 29877 (... debridement/shaving of articular cartilage [chondroplasty]). Reporting the synovectomy gets trickier. CPT® has two code choices for synovectomy: 29875 (... synovectomy, limited [e.g., plica or shelf resection] [separate procedure]) for one compartment and 29876 (... synovectomy, major, two or more compartments [e.g., medial or lateral]) for two or more compartments. Because physicians often perform synovectomy in conjunction with other procedures, always check the other codes and their scope before tallying your synovectomy compartments.
Example: Your surgeon completes a medial meniscectomy (29881, ... with meniscectomy [medial or lateral, including any meniscal shaving] including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage [chondroplasty], same or separate compartment[s], when performed) along with medial and lateral synovectomies. Although this is technically a twocompartment synovectomy, the medial synovectomy is included in the code for the medial meniscectomy.
Therefore, you can report only a single compartment synovectomy (29875).
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