Wiki Vascular Surgery

[ptaylor8299]

Help, am having a problem coding the following:
Left femoral-to-popliteal bypass with reverse saphemous vein (35556) & Endoscopic sephenous vein harvest, left leg (??).
Any suggestions for the second half?

 

[airart]

From what I have been able to find, only harvesting in the upper extremity (arm) are separately coded. Leg harvesting veins are included in the main procedure.

This question was asked on another forum on April 12, 2012
Question:
How do you bill for harvest of the saphenous vein from the opposite leg for a fem-pop bypass with vein?

Answer:
The harvest of saphenous vein from the same or contralateral leg is inclusive to the bypass procedure and not separately reported. However, depending on the amount of time spent, you could place a modifier 22. For example, The harvesting of the vein took over two hours.