AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2013 Issue 4; Ask the Editor

Device Character for Port-A-Cath Placement

A 59-year-old patient with advanced ovarian cancer presents for insertion of venous access port. An incision was made in the anterior chest wall and a subcutaneous pocket was created. The catheter was advanced into the vein, tunneled under the skin and attached to the port, which was anchored in the subcutaneous pocket. The incision was closed in layers. When assigning an ICD-10-PCS code for insertion of a port-a-cath, what device character should we select? Would a port-a-cath be considered a reservoir (character “W”) or a vascular access device (character “X”)?  ...

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