tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2012 Issue 6

You Be the Coder: Distinguish Internal/External Hemorrhoids

Question: Our surgeon treated a patient with two internal hemorrhoids that protruding through the anus. The treatment involved dividing the sphincter and banding the two hemorrhoids. Should we code 46221 x 2 and 46080?Washington SubscriberAnswer: You should report only one instance of 46221 (Hemorrhoidectomy, internal, by rubber band ligation[s]) for the procedure you describe.Multiple hemorrhoids: You'll notice that 46221 describes "ligation[s]," meaning that you should report only one unit of the code whether the surgeon bands one or multiple internal hemorrhoids. Sphincterotomy included: CPT® classifies 46080 (Sphincterotomy, anal, division of sphincter [separate procedure]) as a "separate...

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