Anesthesia Coding Alert
Submit 00790 for Cholecystectomy, Even When Partial
Question: A patient was scheduled for an open cholecystectomy. He was found to have severe gangrene of the gallbladder with intra-abdominal abscess. Open drainage of the intra-abdominal abscess was performed. Only a partial cholecystectomy could be performed due to the condition of the gallbladder. How do we code for the anesthesiologist’s service?
Indiana Subscriber
Answer: Surgical coding would be 47600 (Cholecystectomy) with modifier 52 (Reduced services) since the surgeon did not complete the full procedure. The anesthesia code is 00790 (Anesthesia for intraperitoneal procedures in upper abdomen including laparoscopy; not otherwise specified). The fact that the surgeon didn’t complete the fully anticipated procedure doesn’t matter from an anesthesia standpoint. Code 00790 carries 7 base units, so report that with the applicable time units.
Anesthesia Coding Alert
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Submit 00790 for Cholecystectomy, Even When Partial
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Question: We used to bill the 62368, 95991, and the appropriate J code for pump [...] - Reader Question:
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