Orthopedic Coding Alert
You Be the Coder:
Which Modifier Applies to Weekly Castings?
Published on Tue Mar 28, 2006
Question: Which modifier should we report when we recast an infant each week to treat his bilateral clubfeet?
Texas Subscriber
Answer: For weekly castings, you should report 29450 (Application of clubfoot cast with molding or manipulation, long or short leg) with modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) appended.
You don't need to append another modifier to 29450 because insurers don't assign global surgical periods to casting codes.
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