tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2019 Issue Q3

You Be the Coder: Distinguish 3 Anal Fistula Codes

Question: The op report describes the surgeon identifying an internal anal fistula opening, then cutting open the fistula tract from the anal sphincter to the external anus, cutting open the fistula, and scraping/flushing the tract before stitching sides to open the fistula. How should we code this? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: The code that most accurately represents the procedure you’ve described is 46280 (Surgical treatment of anal fistula (fistulectomy/fistulotomy); transsphincteric, suprasphincteric, extrasphincteric or multiple, including placement of seton, when performed). The surgeon described a fistula that extends from the sphincter muscle to the external anal canal, so this is...

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.