# Wound Vacs



## LindaEV (Dec 9, 2009)

I've always been with surgeons who refer to wound care centers for post-op wound complications, but I just started on with a group who has a new doc who does this type of wound care in the office.

Is the wound vac code, 97605, payable in the post op period?

If so, do you bill this code _everytime_ the patient comes in for a wound check and replacement of the bandage portion?

Can you bill seperately for debridement?

I've googled around, but have gotten conflicting info. I'd appreciate any help!!


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## annr420 (Dec 12, 2009)

I don't know if 97605 is billable during global (try it & see?), however I think it applies to every time the patient comes in and the wound is checked, assessed & the bandage replaced. Since a wound vac is a sort of "non-selective" debridement, 97605 is not billable with 97602, however 97605 can be billed with 97597. This is to the best of my knowledge - which may not be perfect


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## GuzmanS (Dec 13, 2009)

97605 can be coded once per visit and does not have a global itself, so i would bill it everytime the patient returned to have it done. I would append modifier 58 or 79 if it within another global period, though.

According to codingtoday.com, an online web source:
"Code 97597 (RVU: 0.89) and 97605 (RVU: 0.72) are mutually exclusive. You may typically only bill one of them. You may unbundle them only if you can justify the use of an appropriate modifier. If you are unable to justify the use of a modifier, you should bill 97597 (RVU: 0.89) alone because it has a higher RVU than 97605 (RVU: 0.72)."

Serenity, CPC


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