tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2013 Issue 8

Reader Question: Completion Colectomy Needs Details

Question: A patient had undergone an earlier extended left hemicolectomy with end colostomy due to Crohn’s disease. Now, due torecurrent bleeding, our surgeon performed a takedown of the colostomy, completion colectomy, and turnbull end ileostomy. The remaining colon consists of only the right colon. What is the correct coding for this second procedure?Mississippi Subscriber Answer: A possible code is 44144 (Colectomy, partial; with resection, with colostomy or ileostomy and creation of mucofistula). Typically, “completion colectomy” would be a total colectomy, but that’s apparently not the case here if most of the left colon had previously...

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