tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 5

READER QUESTIONS: Exploration Affects Secondary Closure

Question: On several occasions, our surgeons have performed bowel surgery and have had to leave the abdomen open due to edema, etc. Several days later, the surgeon will return to the OR and place a Wittman patch on the abdomen. The surgeon might go back, still later during the same hospital stay, to close the abdomen. How should I code for these?Pennsylvania Subscriber Answer: Initially, you should code the bowel surgery as usual, but append modifier -52 (Reduced services) to indicate that the surgeon did not perform the closure (which is an integral part of all open surgical...

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