Urology Coding Alert

Question: My urologist performed a Holmium laser prostatectomy via a “BRIDGE” technique. What is a BRIDGE technique prostatectomy, and how do I code this procedure? New York Subscriber Answer: The BRIDGE technique is a surgical innovation combining Holmium laser enucleation (HoLEP) and Holmium ablation (HoLAP) techniques during one Holmium laser prostatectomy procedure. In this technique the urologist first incises (vaporizes) the bladder neck with the Holmium laser at the 5 and 7 o’clock positions, down to the bladder neck fibers. Then, the urologist extends each incision distally to the verumontanum, avoiding the external urinary sphincter. Next, the urologist enucleates the middle lobe using the laser to the proximal prostatic urethra and partially detaches it from the bladder neck. Using the Holmium laser, the urologist then morcellates the middle lobe (adenoma) into smaller pieces within the prostatic fossa, which are now detached completely from their attachments to the bladder neck and [...]