Urology Coding Alert

Question: Is there a code for stent removal, by pulling a string, and not through a cystoscope?

Washington Subscriber

Answer: You really can't separately report a stent removal your urologist performed just by pulling a string. You should include the stent removal as part of the E/M service you're reporting.

If there is no reportable E/M service -- for example, if you're within the global period of a surgical procedure such as an extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) -- you would have to include the string-pulling stent removal as part of the original procedure.