Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Can you explain what a bronchial blocker is and how we code for it?

Delaware Subscriber

Answer: A bronchial blocker is a balloon-type object that is at the end of a bronchoscope. The physician enlarges the balloon so the anesthesiologist can block air from entering the patient's bronchials/lungs during surgery that requires one-lung ventilation.

You don't code for the lung blocking itself, but depending on the procedure performed you may be able to report an anesthesia code that includes one-lung ventilation (00541, Anesthesia for thoracotomy procedures involving lungs, pleura, diaphragm, and mediastinum [including surgical thoracoscopy]; utilizing 1 lung ventilation). Code 00541 should be one of the alternate anesthesia codes for the surgery. For example, code 32505 (Thoracotomy; with therapeutic wedge resection [e.g., mass, nodule], initial) is associated with anesthesia codes 00541 and 00540 (Anesthesia for thoracotomy procedures involving lungs, pleura, diaphragm, and mediastinum [including surgical thoracoscopy]; not otherwise specified). When documentation notes that the anesthesiologist used a bronchial blocker, code 00541 could be appropriate.