Urology Coding Alert

Remember that payer rules about bladder tumor removal coding vary.When your urologist performs more than just a bladder neck contracture dilation during an operative session, figuring out the proper coding and when you can unbundled procedures can stump even the best coders. Test your know-how with this real-life case study. Review the Surgical CaseScenario: The urologist saw a Medicare patient who was in clot retention secondary to a bladder neck contracture and bleeding from bladder tumors. The urologist dilated the contraction and evacuated the clots. He also resected several medium-sized bladder tumors on the lateral bladder wall and fulgurated several small tumors at the bladder neck.Coding dilemma: The code for the dilation of the contracture (52281, Cystourethroscopy, with calibration and/or dilation of urethral stricture or stenosis, with or without meatotomy, with or without injection procedure for cystography, male or female) bundles all of the above procedures. Elizabeth Hollingshead, CPC, CMC, [...]