tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2015 Issue 8

You Be the Coder: Don't Miss Separate Angioplasty Opportunity

Question: What is the best way to report an angioplasty and vacuum thrombectomy of the inferior vena cava? Utah Subscriber Answer: For the inferior vena cava mechanical vacuum thrombectomy, the most appropriate code is 37187 (Percutaneous transluminal mechanical thrombectomy, vein[s], including intraprocedural pharmacological thrombolytic injections and fluoroscopic guidance). Code 37187 explicitly includes thrombolytic injections performed during the procedure and fluoroscopic guidance, but CPT® guidelines state, “Code(s) for catheter placement(s), diagnostic studies, and other percutaneous interventions (e.g., transluminal balloon angioplasty, stent placement) provided are separately reportable.” That’s why you can separately report the angioplasty using 35476...

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