tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2000 Issue 2

Case Study: Use Modifiers to Bypass Endarterectomy, Graft Bundling

If surgeons fail to code endarterectomies and grafts performed on different limbs during the same operative session correctly, the codes may be bundled. But by using proper modifiers, they can ensure proper reimbursement for services provided. General surgeons should not bill 35371 (thromboendarterectomy, with or without patch graft; common femoral) with 35558 (bypass graft, with vein; femoral-femoral), unless the procedures are performed on different legs and are indicated as such via the use of -LT (left side) and -RT (right side) modifiers, says Kathleen Mueller, RN, CPC, CCS-P, a general surgery coding and reimbursement specialist in Lenzburg, Ill. Other...

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