tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2017 Issue 6

You Be the Coder: Code This Esophagectomy Case

Question: The surgeon performed an open esophagectomy of the abdominal esophagus and removed a portion of the proximal stomach, reconnecting the remaining esophagus to the stomach. The patient had been diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus, but the pathology report on this surgical specimen shows adenocarcinoma. How should we code the case? Ohio Subscriber Answer: The procedure you describe is 43122 (Partial esophagectomy, thoracoabdominal or abdominal approach, with or without proximal gastrectomy; with esophagogastrostomy, with or without pyloroplasty). You’ve documented a partial esophagectomy with proximal gastrectomy. Although you don’t mention that the surgeon widened the pyloris, a step...

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