January 2007 page 28b
Coding Communication:Surgery: Cardiovascular System
Question
If a femoropopliteal vein harvest is
performed on both lower extremities, is it
appropriate to append modifier 50, Bilateral
procedure, to add-on code 35572, Harvest of
femoropopliteal vein, one segment, for vascular
reconstruction procedure (eg, aortic, vena caval,
coronary, peripheral artery) (List separately in
addition to code for primary procedure)?
AMA Comment
Yes. If procedure code 35572 is
performed bilaterally, then it would be appropriate
to append modifier 50.
Surgery: Cardiovascular System (January 2007). CPT® Assistant. 2007; January 2007 page 28b
...
Note: The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.
Article Overview
This short CPT Assistant communication discusses a cardiovascular surgery coding question from January 2007. It is relevant to coders and billing staff who work with surgical cardiovascular procedures and need to understand the article’s general guidance on reporting bilateral services and add-on procedures. The article presents an AMA comment in response to a specific coding question and is useful for reviewing how the topic is handled in the CPT surgery section.
Why This Topic Matters
It helps readers locate a narrow official coding discussion within the CPT surgery literature and understand that the article focuses on a bilateral procedure reporting issue in cardiovascular surgery.
Article Sections
January 2007 page 28b
A brief CPT Assistant coding communication and question-answer format on a cardiovascular surgery billing topic.
What You Will Learn
The article’s general focus within cardiovascular surgery coding
That the piece is presented as a coding communication with an AMA comment
That the topic involves reporting bilateral services for an add-on procedure
How the article is organized as a short Q&A guidance item
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