tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2008 Issue 6

You Be the Coder: Can Chole Be Separate With Whipple?

Question: Can we report a cholecystectomy at the same time as a whipple procedure if the reason for the chole is chronic inflammation or sludge? I have reported these procedures together with modifier 59, but Medicare denied the claim. Washington,D.C.,SubscriberAnswer: A standard radical pancreaticoduodenectomy, or Whipple procedure (48150, Pancreat-ectomy, proximal subtotal with total duodenectomy, partial gastrectomy, choledochoenterostomy and gastrojejunostomy [Whipple-type procedure]; with pancreatojejunostomy), typically includes removal of the gallbladder and ligature of the cystic duct. Sludge is not usually a priority when a patient requires a Whipple, and your surgeon probably didn't remove the gallbladder for...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.


Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1999 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • tci General Surgery Coding Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
subscribe
start today
newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.