Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Which diagnosis code is appropriate for Port-a-Cath malfunction? Is it a V code? New York Subscriber Answer: The proper code depends on the specific "complication" or "malfunction" type, so you would need more information to choose the best code. Typically, you'll choose a complication code from the following options: • 996.1 -- Mechanical complication of other vascular device, implant, and graft • 996.62 -- Infection and inflammatory reaction due to internal prosthetic device, implant, and graft; due to other vascular device, implant, and graft (requires an additional code to specify the infection, such as sepsis) • 996.74 -- Other complications of internal (biological) (synthetic) prosthetic device, implant, and graft; due to other vascular device, implant, and graft • 999.31 -- Infection due to central venous catheter (requires an additional code to specify the infection, such as sepsis). Once you've chosen the appropriate primary code, you should report E878.8 (Other specified surgical operations or [...]