Wiki JP DRAIN PLACEMENT

[TanBro]

I had a Patient that had a C-section and when a Pfannenstiel incision was made and carried down to the fascia it was found to be severely edematous. About 9 cm deep. After the C-section was complete and they were closing up there was a significant depth and oozing of serous fluid from the edema. My doctor then placed a JP drain to drain the fluid. It stayed in for 3 day PP. This was done with a separate 4 mm incision in the skin, and the drain laid flat across the re-approximated sutures. The drain was brought out the separate incision. So, I'm coming up with code 10160 with dx o12.04 or should I add a 22? I've tried searching for info on this and coming up empty handed.

 

[thomas7331]

I had a Patient that had a C-section and when a Pfannenstiel incision was made and carried down to the fascia it was found to be severely edematous. About 9 cm deep. After the C-section was complete and they were closing up there was a significant depth and oozing of serous fluid from the edema. My doctor then placed a JP drain to drain the fluid. It stayed in for 3 day PP. This was done with a separate 4 mm incision in the skin, and the drain laid flat across the re-approximated sutures. The drain was brought out the separate incision. So, I'm coming up with code 10160 with dx o12.04 or should I add a 22? I've tried searching for info on this and coming up empty handed.

Placement of a drain is generally considered an incidental component of a surgical procedure. Per the NCCI manual, Chapter 1: Examples of services integral to a large number of procedures include: Insertion and removal of drains, suction devices, and pumps into same site. Even though it required a separate incision, I wouldn't code it separately because the placement of the drain was part of the main procedure and was done in order the drain the operative site, not to treat a separate problem.

I don't believe that the placement of the drain alone would warrant a modifier 22, unless the documentation by the provider states in some way that this additional work made the overall procedure significantly more difficult or time-consuming.

 

[TanBro]

Placement of a drain is generally considered an incidental component of a surgical procedure. Per the NCCI manual, Chapter 1: Examples of services integral to a large number of procedures include: Insertion and removal of drains, suction devices, and pumps into same site. Even though it required a separate incision, I wouldn't code it separately because the placement of the drain was part of the main procedure and was done in order the drain the operative site, not to treat a separate problem.

I don't believe that the placement of the drain alone would warrant a modifier 22, unless the documentation by the provider states in some way that this additional work made the overall procedure significantly more difficult or time-consuming.

Thank you for the info and the fast reply!!