Sephardic
Networker
I'm having a problem with my discograms. My understanding of the procedure is they inject some type of contrast material directly into the disc to see if the disc has any leaks or fissuring...They take xrays and then do a CT ect.
I've seen some lately were they are injecting Marcaine into the disc (which I thought was a pain killer) with fluoroscopic guidance. They're not making any mention of fissuring or leaks...not bothering to do a CT afterwards either. It seems the only purpose is the injection of a pain killer directly into the disc. If anyone has seen these or is familiar with them any help on how to code them would be appreciated. I don't think the normal discogram codes are appropriate for these. The report is below:
Using fluoroscopic guidance a 25-gauge needle was advanced into the
disc at C5-C6 and 0.8 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine was injected following
injection of about 0.5 cc Isovue-M-200 to document intradiscal
positioning. Imaging from the lateral view is
quite difficult because he could not drop his shoulders. If this
injection does not produce the desired clinical result, we may want
to consider performing an additional procedure using CT guidance.
Conclusion:
C5-C6 Marcaine discogram performed
I've seen some lately were they are injecting Marcaine into the disc (which I thought was a pain killer) with fluoroscopic guidance. They're not making any mention of fissuring or leaks...not bothering to do a CT afterwards either. It seems the only purpose is the injection of a pain killer directly into the disc. If anyone has seen these or is familiar with them any help on how to code them would be appreciated. I don't think the normal discogram codes are appropriate for these. The report is below:
Using fluoroscopic guidance a 25-gauge needle was advanced into the
disc at C5-C6 and 0.8 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine was injected following
injection of about 0.5 cc Isovue-M-200 to document intradiscal
positioning. Imaging from the lateral view is
quite difficult because he could not drop his shoulders. If this
injection does not produce the desired clinical result, we may want
to consider performing an additional procedure using CT guidance.
Conclusion:
C5-C6 Marcaine discogram performed