AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2021 Issue 3; Ask the Editor

Placement and Removal of Cannulas for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The patient was admitted with a large medias­tinal goiter and underwent surgical removal of the goiter via median sternotomy, along with cannulation of bilateral femoral veins in an­ticipation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) perfusion. Due to severe narrowing of the patient’s airway, there was concern that on induction of anesthesia, the airway would not be accessible and ECMO would be required as backup. Cannulas were placed in the right and left femoral veins and the cannulas were connected to the circuit. Anesthesia was induced and the patient was intubated without incident. Therefore, the use of ECMO was not needed. At the completion of the procedure, both cannulas were removed. Is it appropriate to assign an additional code for the cannulation when ECMO perfusion was not provided during the surgery? ...

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