tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2003 Issue 9

Reader Question: Report 43631 or 43638 for Hemigastrectomy

Question: What is hemigastrectomy, and how should I code for it? Arizona SubscriberAnswer: Hemigastrectomy means partial ("hemi") removal of the stomach ("gastrectomy"). CPT includes three primary gastrectomy codes: 43620 - Gastrectomy, total; with esophagoenterostomy 43631 - Gastrectomy, partial, distal; with gastroduodenostomy 43638 - Gastrectomy, partial, proximal, thoracic or abdominal approach including esophagogastrostomy, with vagotomy. Because 43620 describes a total removal, you would not bill this code for a hemigastrectomy. Therefore, depending on which portion of the stomach the surgeon removed, you would report either 43631 or 43638. The remaining gastrectomy codes (43632, Gastrectomy, partial, distal; with gastro-jejunostomy; 43633, Gastrectomy...

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

This feature is currently unavailable for online purchase. For more information, please call 801-770-4203 or Contact Us.

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.