Wiki Removal of hardware in same leg surgery is performed

mindyanna

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Good Morning fellow coders. I have been trying to find documentation regarding removing hardware of the same site a surgical procedure will be done. I'm being told by my supervisor that it's okay to bill for the removal of a rod in the tibia and bill for a 27715 with a precise nail. This precise nail would go exactly where the previous rod was and I'm having a hard time with this. I was always told that if you have to remove hardware to do the procedure the hardware removal was not billable. I am being told it's okay as long as the payer is not a Government payer like Medicare, or Blue Federal. Is this true and if so can you direct me to documentation to support this? I would welcome everyone's opinion on this even if you don't know the answer to my question.

Thanks in advance!
 
Without seeing the actual op note, it is hard to say. Normally, you are correct in that hardware removal would be a component of the other surgery to be performed.
 
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