Urology Coding Alert

Question: I performed a ureteroscopy; however, I could only advance the scope to approximately the iliac vessels. Next, I performed a flexible ureteroscopy. I saw the stent in the proximal left ureter. Using a three-prong ureteral grasper, I grasped the stent, but was only able to pull it down to the level of the mid left ureter before the grasper was unable to continue to hold the stent. At this point, I used a combination of a three-prong grasper, a spiral basket, and a Nitinol basket to try to grasp the stent. This took a considerable amount of time. I spent approximately two hours grasping the stent and slowly pulling it down the left ureter. Eventually, I was able to identify this stent in the distal left ureter below the iliac vessels, and redo the ureteroscopy. At this point, it was somewhat easier to grab the stent with the three-prong [...]