Wiki Allograft with a shoulder surgery

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How do I code an allograft used in a shoulder surgery? The cpt codes I looked at are for spine surgeries. The surgeon did OTIF of the proximal humerous with tuberosities with bone graft. I picked 23615 but what do I use for the allograft? The op notes states:

The patient had a large void in the metaphyseal region. I decided to use the iliac crest allograft. I used a block of iliac crest allograft and placed this in the defect. I reduced the fragment, controlling the suture on the tuberosites by taking the shaft out of varus.

Is an additional diagnosis needed to indicate the need for the allograft?

Thanks, Paula
 
re: shoulder surgery

I have come across this several times, and i want to say that the allograft is included in the surgery. Are you on the Ortho list serve? If not, that is a great site to get info. Hope this helps.
Jen P
 
orthro list serve

Thanks Jen for your advice. I haven't used the ortho list serve. Do you have an email address or website link for it? I'm always looking for good resources. When I checked the coder's desk reference for 23615 there wasn't any reference to grafting in it. This must be one of those things that just comes with experience. Thanks again, Paula
 
Paula...was this truly "allograft"?? You mention in your above post that it was "iliac crest allograft". The reason I question this is because an iliac graft is usually autograft. If its autograft, we may have another code here.

Let me know
Mary
 
Thank you

Mary and Jen, thanks for all the help. I can't begin to describe how helpful this forum has been..

Have a great day coding, Paula:)
 
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