tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2019 Issue 5

Pancreas Surgery: 4 Steps Focus Whipple Code Selection

Identify approach, excisions, and resections. Surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer might challenge you with coding the complicated Whipple procedure. Problem is, you might not even see that name in the op note, instead confronting a list of seemingly disparate procedures like duodenectomy, gastrojejunostomy, and choledochoenterostomy. Here’s why: The pancreas is closely associated with other organs, so removing part of the pancreas necessarily involves removing all or part of other organs such as the gallbladder, part of the small intestine, common bile duct, and stomach. Following these resections and excisions, the surgeon must reconnect the organs to allow for...

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