tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2000 Issue 6

You Be the Coder: Initial and Recurrent Hernias

Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.Question: A patient has two inguinal hernias repaired on the same day; one is recurrent and the other is initial. Do you use modifier -50 or modifier -51?Oregon SubscriberAnswer: There are two separate codes for initial and recurrent inguinal hernia; therefore a modifier -50 (bilateral procedure) would not be appropriate, says Tammy Chidester, CPC, billing supervisor for Upshore Medical Management Services in Buckhammon, W.Va. A modifier -50 should be used only if exactly the same service was...

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