Wiki Retained foreign body R femoral artery

[Karen Schuetz]

I coded the following documentation with 27372. The surgeon feels it should be 37203 and 35226. Here is the documentation:

The femoral sheath was opened and the artery was identified. We dissected proximal and then distal to the introducer wire. We clamped above and below the arteriotomy. We enlarged the arteriotomy and withdrew the balloon and then reclamped the proximal clamp. We closed the arteriotomy using 2 6-0 Prolene sutures.

Who is correct?

 

[KeriH423]

Was this the only documentation of what was done? I would agree with the surgeon that the codes should come from the cardiovascular section of CPT versus the musculoskeletal system; however, 37203 is for a percutaneous retrieval and this appears to be an open procedure with terms like dissection and clamping. I would need to see a procedure report to check the context, but an open vascular repair would be 35226.