March 2007 page 9b
Coding Communication:Surgery: Musculoskeletal System
Question
Tympanoplasties usually require
cartilage and/or temporalis fascia harvesting
and grafting. Are the harvesting procedures
included in the tympanoplasty code or are they
separately reportable to codes such as 20926
and 21235?
AMA Comment
CPT code 69631, Tympanoplasty
without mastoidectomy (including canalplasty, atticotomy
and/or middle ear surgery), initial or revision;
without ossicular chain reconstruction, describes
initial or revision tympanoplasty not requiring a
mastoidectomy. The middle ear is accessed
through an incision into the ear canal skin using
either a post-auricular or transcanal approach.
Typically, the eardrum is reflected forward and
the...
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