Wiki Arthroscopic ACL debridement

[Anna L.]

Does anyone have any info for coding an ACL debridement with other scope procedures? At a seminar I was advised it was inclusive since it was a debridement. Any advice?

 

[thomas7331]

This is addressed in the NCCI manual, in the Arthroscopy section of the Musculoskeletal Chapter:

"With the exception of the knee joint, arthroscopic debridement should not be reported separately with a surgical arthroscopy procedure when performed on the same joint at the same patient encounter. For knee joint arthroscopic debridement see the following paragraph.

CPT codes 29874 (Surgical knee arthroscopy for removal of loose body or foreign body) and 29877 (Surgical knee arthroscopy for debridement/shaving of articular cartilage) should not be reported with other knee arthroscopy codes (29866-29889). With two exceptions HCPCS code G0289 (Surgical knee arthroscopy for removal of loose body, foreign body, debridement/shaving of articular cartilage at the time of other surgical knee arthroscopy in a different compartment of the same knee) may be reported with other knee arthroscopy codes. Since CPT codes 29880 and 29881 (Surgical knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage of same or separate compartment(s)) include debridement/shaving of articular cartilage of any compartment, HCPCS code G0289 may be reported with CPT codes 29880 or 29881 only if reported for removal of a loose body or foreign body from a different compartment of the same knee. HCPCS code G0289 should not be reported for removal of a loose body or foreign body or debridement/shaving of articular cartilage from the same compartment as another knee arthroscopic procedure."