Anesthesia Coding Alert
Facet Rhizotomy Depends on Surgeon
Question: What are the correct surgical and anesthesia codes for facet rhizotomy?
Answer: Coders differ on the best code choice for rhizotomy. Some suggest 63600 (Creation of lesion of spinal cord by stereotactic method, percutaneous, any modality [including stimulation and/or recording]), while others report the appropriate code from the 64622-64627 range (codes related to Destruction by neurolytic agent, paravertebral facet joint nerve), depending on the spinal region and number of nerves treated.
Tennessee Subscriber
A pain management specialist might perform the rhizotomy, but neurosurgeons and orthopedists perform it more often. If one of these other specialists performs the rhizotomy, you would only report the procedure's anesthesia.
If the surgeon reports 63600, the anesthesia code is 00730 (Anesthesia for procedures on upper posterior abdominal wall). Codes 64622-64627 cross to anesthesia code 01992 (Anesthesia for diagnostic or therapeutic nerve blocks and injections [when block or injection is performed by a different provider]; prone position).
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Virginia Subscriber
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Question: What are the correct surgical and anesthesia codes for facet rhizotomy?
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