You be the coder: Follow Hernia Bundling Rules

Article Overview

This premium article is aimed at coders and billing staff who work with hernia surgery documentation and related diagnosis coding. It reviews how an open reducible umbilical hernia repair may be reported when additional tissue is removed, and it highlights the documentation factors that affect whether the encounter is coded as a hernia repair alone, with an added service, or with a separate diagnosis for a retained or left-behind surgical foreign body. The article also frames the issue in terms of ICD-9 and CPT coding distinctions.