# The definition of operative field when doing percutaneous procedures.



## Desorcy (Feb 24, 2011)

I need a proper definition on operative field, when doing a percutaneos procedure Like when a Cardiologist is doing a diagnostic heart and follows up with an intervention of occluding a blood vessel and using code 37204.


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## Jim Pawloski (Feb 24, 2011)

Desorcy said:


> I need a proper definition on operative field, when doing a percutaneos procedure Like when a Cardiologist is doing a diagnostic heart and follows up with an intervention of occluding a blood vessel and using code 37204.



Think of surgery.  What area is being worked on, and that would be your surgical area.  In your example, anywhere in the chest.  For liver, there is one main blood vessle that feeds the liver, the  hepatic artery.  It branches into the right and left hepatic artery.  If a branch of both right and left hepatic artery is embolized, you can only bill one embolization charge because the liver is considered one surgical field.
Hope that helps,
Jim Pawloski, CIRCC


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