Pam Warren
True Blue
We're fairly new at vascular and interventional coding, and had a case come up that has us scratching our heads.
A patient had a recent port-a-cath removal, but unfortunately, the device broke leaving a piece in the subcutaneous tissue and the subclavian vein. A percutaneous retrieval was attempted, (37203, 75961-26,) but was unsuccessful. So under US guidance, the provider inserted a needle into the right common femoral vein, and a benson wire was advanced to the tip of the foreign body, then a snare was advanced through a 7 French Cath and the foreign body snagged and brought back out through the femoral vein. Do we code for the percutaneous retrieval with the -53? What about coding for the femoral puncture and cath insertion? Is there a code for FB removal through an endovascular technique? Or do we code the removal with the -52, even though it's already been billed out globally. Couldn't find anything in Dr. Z's guides. Thanks very much.
A patient had a recent port-a-cath removal, but unfortunately, the device broke leaving a piece in the subcutaneous tissue and the subclavian vein. A percutaneous retrieval was attempted, (37203, 75961-26,) but was unsuccessful. So under US guidance, the provider inserted a needle into the right common femoral vein, and a benson wire was advanced to the tip of the foreign body, then a snare was advanced through a 7 French Cath and the foreign body snagged and brought back out through the femoral vein. Do we code for the percutaneous retrieval with the -53? What about coding for the femoral puncture and cath insertion? Is there a code for FB removal through an endovascular technique? Or do we code the removal with the -52, even though it's already been billed out globally. Couldn't find anything in Dr. Z's guides. Thanks very much.