Urology Coding Alert

Question: How should I code the removal of a stent that has migrated into the ureter? CPT 52310 does not include the ureters.

Answer: There isn't a code that exactly specifies foreign body removal from the ureters. But experts recommend reporting 52351 (Cystourethroscopy, with ureteroscopy and/or pyeloscopy; diagnostic) with modifier 22 (Unusual procedural services) when a urologist performs a cystourethroscopy and ureteroscopy to remove a stent that has migrated up the ureter and whose distal J coil is not visible in the bladder.

Warning: Do not bill 52352 (Cystourethroscopy, with ureteroscopy and/or pyeloscopy; with removal or manipulation of calculus ...) because this code represents the removal of a ureteral stone, not a foreign body or stent.

Diagnosis help: Use 939.9 (Foreign body in genitourinary tract; unspecified site) for the stent, which is a foreign body, in the ureter.