Add Modifier 50 for Bilateral Renal Tumor Ablations
Question: Over the past few months, I’ve had several op notes that show the urologist performed percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablations or cryotherapy ablations of renal tumors on both kidneys. How do I report these procedures? Georgia Subscriber Answer: Assign 50592 (Ablation, 1 or more renal tumor(s), percutaneous, unilateral, radiofrequency) to report the RF ablation of the renal tumors. Use 50593 (Ablation, renal tumor(s), unilateral, percutaneous, cryotherapy) to report the percutaneous cryotherapy ablation of the tumors. Both of these codes are unilateral codes, which means they are designated for procedures performed on only one side of the body. However, the CPT® code book lists parenthetical notes under each code instructing you to append modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) to the codes when the provider performs the ablations on both kidneys. For example, use 50592-50 for RF ablation of tumors on the left and right kidneys. Mike Shaughnessy, BA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC
