Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: Can I report 31622 and 31511 together? My physician states he did a bronchoscopy with removal of foreign body because the patient aspirated.


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Answer: For a bronchoscopy with foreign-body removal, you should report 31635 (Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with or without fluoroscopic guidance; with removal of foreign body). Code 31622 (Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with or without fluoroscopic guidance; diagnostic, with or without cell washing [separate procedure]) does not fully describe the procedure that took place. Code 31622 is a component of 31635 and you would not separately report it.

Code 31511 (Laryngoscopy, indirect; with removal of foreign body) is also not the correct code for this procedure since the procedure visualized more anatomic structures than this code represents.

Tip: If your physician only went as far as the larynx for the foreign-body removal, you would report 31511.

The location of the foreign body determines the ICD-9 code you should report for this procedure as well. You should choose the most appropriate code from 934.1 (Foreign body in trachea, bronchus, and lung; main bronchus), 934.8 (Foreign body in trachea, bronchus, and lung; other specified parts), and 934.9 (Foreign body in trachea, bronchus, and lung; respiratory tree, unspecified).