Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: How should I code stenting an ostial LAD?

Florida Subscriber

Answer: For left anterior descending artery (LAD) stent placement, you should report 92980-LD (Transcatheter placement of an intracoronary stent[s], percutaneous, with or without other therapeutic intervention, any method; single vessel; Left anterior descending coronary artery).

Additional procedures? Note that 92980's descriptor states "single vessel." So if you code LAD stent placement after coding stent placement in another recognized coronary vessel (right coronary or left circumflex), you instead should append modifier LD to +92981 (... each additional vessel [List separately in addition to code for primary procedure).

And if the cardiologist performs stenting in the same vessel as coronary angioplasty (92982- 92984, Percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty ...) and/or coronary atherectomy (92995-92996, Percutaneous transluminal coronary atherectomy ...), you should report only the stenting, according to CPT guidelines.