AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2025 Issue 2; Ask the Editor

Cricothyroidotomy Converted to Tracheostomy

A patient was admitted to hospital A due to persistent respiratory failure with rapid decompensation that required slash cricothyroidotomy and placement of an endotracheal tube. The patient was transferred to hospital B to have the cricothyroidotomy converted to tracheostomy. The patient was taken to the operating room where the inferior portion of the cricothyroidotomy incision corresponded to the ideal location for the tracheostomy. The incision was extended, dissection was performed down to the second and third tracheal rings followed by a vertical incision on either side for an inferiorly based Bjork flap that was secured to the skin. A tracheal dilator was used to widen the tracheostomy. The endotracheal tube was removed, and a tracheostomy tube was placed into the tracheostomy. Bleeding vessels from the cricothyroidotomy were ligated, the previously fractured thyroid and cricoid cartilage were reapproximated, and the vertical incision was closed. What is the procedure code assignment for conversion of the cricothyroidotomy to tracheostomy? ...

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