Wiki Third surgeon doing emergency flap procedure

lmatsu

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Surgeon #1 and Surgeon #2 removed the hardware from a patient's total knee replacement done one week previously because of a post-op wound infection, and did a repeat total knee replacement. When attempting to close the wound, they were unable to do so, and therefore, Surgeon #3 was called in to perform a flap procedure (15738). He performed this without any assistants.

Do we need to code Surgeon #3's procedure with any modifiers?
 
No...he is not going to be doing any post-op care.

Because the flap surgery is being done within the same surgical session as the total knee replacement (albeit by a different physician), would there be a need for a mod -62 as well? If that's the case, does the surgeon that did the TKR also bill for the flap with a -62, even though he did not take part in that procedure?

Thank you very for much your help and response!!
 
NO Mod 62 on flap

Without having all the op reports it's a little difficult to tell, but I think the following might accurately code what happened. ..

There is NO co-surgery involved in the flap. Surgeon # 3 is basically doing the closure for the other surgery ... in this case a flap was required. Just code the flap w/ -54 mod for Surgeon # 3. Surgeon # 1 and # 2 will code the knee replacement, etc with mod -62.


F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CPC-E/M
 
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