Outpatient Facility Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Is IOL Bundled With Keratoplasty?

Question: The surgeon performs intraocular lens (IOL) placement with cataract surgery and then performs endothelial keratoplasty (65756). Are these procedures bundled? 

Missouri Subscriber

Answer: As you need to follow Correct Coding Initiative, and that does not include the intraocular lens (IOL) placement code in keratoplasty. Therefore, you can code the cataract surgery with IOL placement (66984, Extracapsular cataract removal with insertion of intraocular lens prosthesis [1 stage procedure], manual or mechanical technique [e.g., irrigation and aspiration or phacoemulsification]) and the endothelial keratoplasty (65756, Keratoplasty [corneal transplant]; endothelial). 

Keep This in Mind for Penetrating Keratoplasty

On the other hand, if the surgeon had done a penetrating keratoplasty (65755, ... penetrating [in pseudophakia]), this procedure is bundled with the IOL placement (66984) and cannot be billed unless the two procedures were performed on opposite eyes.

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