AmyCPCCPCH
Networker
Hello
I have a patient who had a previous elbow arthroplasty. The patient was still having elbow instability so the physician went in and added a linking component to stabilize the semiconstrained prosthesis.
The operative report states:
A dorsal approach was undertaken. The ulnar nerve was previously transposed. The triceps mechanism was divided longitudinally. Portions of the olecranon were excised, and the linking docking set for the link device was identified. The linking device was placed through the Morse taper. The screw was placed from anterior to posterior. The tab was bent over the screw. This improved the stability. There was no significant polyethylene wear. No identifiable purulent discharge or material within the joint. There was mild synovitis and mild effusion.
The provider wants to code this as a total elbow 24363. I think that is incorrect as it appears he just added a stabilizing unit to the previous arthroplasty. So I was hoping to get some other coders opinion. How would you code this?
Thanks
I have a patient who had a previous elbow arthroplasty. The patient was still having elbow instability so the physician went in and added a linking component to stabilize the semiconstrained prosthesis.
The operative report states:
A dorsal approach was undertaken. The ulnar nerve was previously transposed. The triceps mechanism was divided longitudinally. Portions of the olecranon were excised, and the linking docking set for the link device was identified. The linking device was placed through the Morse taper. The screw was placed from anterior to posterior. The tab was bent over the screw. This improved the stability. There was no significant polyethylene wear. No identifiable purulent discharge or material within the joint. There was mild synovitis and mild effusion.
The provider wants to code this as a total elbow 24363. I think that is incorrect as it appears he just added a stabilizing unit to the previous arthroplasty. So I was hoping to get some other coders opinion. How would you code this?
Thanks