Wiki 29877 and 29888

Create Wiki
W

woowooz7

Networker
Messages
31
Location
Palm Harbor, FL
Best answers
0
29888 Arthroscopically aided ACL repair/augmentation/reconstruction
29877 Arthroscopy, knee, debridement/shaving articular cartilage

They cannot be billed together but they were.

MD reports:
1. Laparoscopic ACL reconstruction with Achilles tendon allograft.
2. Arthroscopic chondroplasty of patella.
3. Arthroscopic chondroplasty of medial femoral condyle.

Is this 29867 - arthroscopy, knee osteochondral allograft?

"She had a 1+ Lachman and a 1/2-1+ medial collateral both of moderate end points. We then noted the femoral fascia of the ACL was interrupted. We obtained a grafting from the bone bank, shaped this on the back table. We then made an incision over the proximal medial tibia, dissected down to the pes anserine tendon for the tibial tunnel site for drilling later in the case. The scope was replace in the knee. The old ACL was shaved with a shaver and some synovium was taken out of the anterior part of the knee.
 
I can see where you are getting the allograft from what you posted. A book that can be very helpful for ortho surgeries is called the Coders Desk Reference for Procedures. This book has detailed lay descriptions of all surgeries and can be very helpful as to when an additional code is needed. I do not have mine with me but I honestly do not recall if the allograft is inclusive to the 29888, and if not you might be able to code it also. I would get a copy of that book to be sure.
Oh, and remember the only dumb question is the one you fail to ask!
 
Not a waste of time, and I don't think questions are dumb, I was just curious. I'm just learning spine surgery coding, so I'm sure some of my questions seem dumb to an experienced spine coder. So... feel free to ask away, and take Debra's advise to get the Coder's Desk Reference, it's a great reference tool, I use it all the time.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top