tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2001 Issue 11

Reader Question: Use I and D Code for Stump Infection Debridement

Question: A patient had bilateral above-the-knee amputations. Two weeks later, he was returned to the operating room because one of the stumps was infected. The wound was opened, and the following services performed: purulent drainage, debridement of necrotic tissue, irrigation of the femur stump, and reapproximation of a portion of the muscle over the end of the stump. The wound was left open, to pack and drain. How should this procedure be coded?Massachusetts Subscriber  Answer: The correct code is 27301 (incision and drainage, deep abscess, bursa, or hematoma, thigh or knee region) appended with Modifier 78 (return...

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.