Wiki Bridging lesion verses bifurcation lesion

[nlaaron]

Can you someone tell me what the exact difference is of a bridging lesion and a bifurcation lesion? In order to code stenting on both vessels treated for a bifurcation lesion do two stents need to be placed or can one stent be used? For example: the physician placed a stent from the distal Main into the ostium of the LAD due to a dissecting lesion. Is this considered a bifurcation lesion? Does the physician need to say specifically that the lesion was at the bifurcation? The description of bifurcation indicates its a lesion occurring adjacent to, and/or involving, the origin of a significant side branch that you do not want to lose, so wouldn't an ostium lesion constitute as a bifurcation lesion?
Thanks so much!

 

[Jim Pawloski]

Can you someone tell me what the exact difference is of a bridging lesion and a bifurcation lesion? In order to code stenting on both vessels treated for a bifurcation lesion do two stents need to be placed or can one stent be used? For example: the physician placed a stent from the distal Main into the ostium of the LAD due to a dissecting lesion. Is this considered a bifurcation lesion? Does the physician need to say specifically that the lesion was at the bifurcation? The description of bifurcation indicates its a lesion occurring adjacent to, and/or involving, the origin of a significant side branch that you do not want to lose, so wouldn't an ostium lesion constitute as a bifurcation lesion?
Thanks so much!

Bridging lesion is a stenosis with a few millimeters away from a second stenosis. A bifurcation lesion would involve the main vessel and a bifurcation vessel i.e LAD and diagonal artery. In your example, I would only bill for the stent in the left main.
HTH,
Jim Pawloski, CIRCC