Wiki Can removing the exposed portion of broken suture from cornea be considered removal of foreign body?

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centralizedcoding

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Patient had an exposed broken suture of the cornea. There is documentation of the risk of infection due to the broken suture sticking out. The broken suture was attempted to be removed with Jeweler forceps, but it broke midway.

Can removal of corneal foreign body be billed (65222 [with slit lamp]) for this one since it is a broken suture in the cornea? Asking as I've seen debates on if sutures can count as foreign body, but this one is a broken suture. (There is an add-on code for removal of sutures, but that one is for removal of sutures of skin.)

Also, opinions on if other rules apply since suture broke midway. There is not a lot of other detailed documentation, and this is a small RVU procedure. I would just like to see opinions of if you think it should or should not be billed, or if you think it could be billed if ___ documentation was added.

Thanks!
 
Hello, I am not an expert and still learning this specialty. To me, if the same surgeon/specialty did the surgery and after the surgery, pt comes with an exposed suture, then removal/correcting etc will be inclusive into the procedure performed prior. It won't be billable. BUT if pt comes to ER and a different specialty is removing the suture, then you can code it. IF the procedure was quick and failed/(like you said the suture broke midway), then i would not code it. I would consider suture as a foreign body because it's not naturally produced.
 
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