Anesthesia Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Sheathectomy

Published on Sun Jul 01, 2001

Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.

Question: A physician performed a sheathectomy on the retinal vein for occlusion. Which surgical and anesthesia codes would be appropriate?

Pennsylvania Subscriber

Answer: The surgical code is partly determined by the method of excision (cutting, laser or diathermy) and what caused the occlusion. For example, if the occlusion were caused by a lesion, use code 67208 (destruction of localized lesion of retina [e.g., macular edema, tumors], one or more sessions; cryotherapy, diathermy). However, depending on the carrier, 67299 (unlisted procedure, posterior segment) might be your only option. Use 00140 (anesthesia for procedures on eye; not otherwise specified) for the anesthesia portion. If the procedure is performed without an anesthesiologist, you'll have to file an operative report in order to receive payment for the anesthesia portion.

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