Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Our anesthesiologist provided general anesthesia during a lumbar wound dehiscence. The surgeon debrided the area and cleaned the bone fragment and nonviable deep area. What anesthesia code should I report?

Arizona Subscriber

Answer: The appropriate choice is CPT 00630 (Anesthesia for procedures in lumbar region; not otherwise specified), which carries a base value of 8 units.

Difference: The surgical code for an extensive or complicated wound dehiscence is 13160 (Secondary closure of surgical wound or dehiscence, extensive or complicated). Code 13160 crosses to anesthesia code 00300 (Anesthesia for all procedures on the integumentary system, muscles and nerves of head, neck, and posterior trunk, not otherwise specified), which carries a base value of 5. The bone fragment and nonviable deep area mentioned in the surgeon's notes, however, indicate a deeper layer than "integumentary." Because of this, reporting 00630 with the higher base unit value is appropriate.