Anesthesia Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Report 348.8 and 01990 for Organ Harvest

 Question: A patient who had been declared brain-dead was taken to surgery for harvesting of her kidney, liver and corneas. What diagnosis and anesthesia codes apply?

Wisconsin Subscriber

 
 Answer: The best diagnosis for these cases is 348.8 (Other conditions of brain). You’ll report 01990 (Physiological support for harvesting of organ[s] from brain-dead patient) for your anesthesiologist’s work.

 Add to it: You might want to report additional diagnoses to explain the situation. These include V59.4 (Donors; kidney), V59.5 (… cornea), V59.6 (… liver) and V59.9 (… unspecified organ or tissue).

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