Our surgeon performed a revision arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. The patient previously had an arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction performed by another surgeon and sustained another injury that ruptured the graft. As part of the revision procedure, our surgeon removed the graft and fixation screws that were implanted by the other surgeon. In addition to reporting code 29888 , Arthroscopically aided anterior cruciate ligament repair/augmentation or reconstruction, for the revision reconstruction, is it appropriate to report code 20680 , Removal of implant; deep (eg, buried wire, pin, screw, metal band, nail, rod or plate), for removal of the screws? ...

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Note:  The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.

Article Overview

This premium coding article addresses a specific orthopedic surgery scenario involving revision arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and associated implant removal. It is written for coders, billers, and revenue cycle staff who need to understand the coding implications of concurrent hardware removal in a revision knee ligament procedure. The article focuses on the general coding question, related CPT identifiers, and the circumstances under which separate reporting is discussed.

Why This Topic Matters

Orthopedic revision cases often involve more than one operative service, and accurate reporting can affect claim submission, bundling review, and documentation review. This article helps readers evaluate a common ACL reconstruction scenario without needing to infer coding treatment from the operative note alone.

Codes Discussed

• CPT: 29888
• CPT: 20680

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