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Cardiology Coding Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Split Femoro-Popliteal for 35474 Services

Published on Sat Feb 28, 2009

Question: Code 35474 refers to "femoro-popliteal" angioplasty. If the cardiologist treats both the femoral and popliteal arteries, should I report the code once or twice? Oklahoma Subscriber Answer: The answer depends on the location and nature of the lesion(s). If the patient had two distinct lesions, this equals two interventions, and you may report 35474 (Transluminal balloon angioplasty, percutaneous; femoro-popliteal) twice. If the patient has one long lesion that extends from the superficial femoral artery into the popliteal artery, this counts as one intervention, and you should report 35474 once. Support: AMA's CPT Assistant (August 2006) states that "Since the inception of component coding for interventional radiology procedures, the femoral and popliteal arteries have been considered two distinct vessels. If there are distinct lesions found in both the femoral and popliteal arteries and each lesion is treated separately with Transluminal balloon angioplasty, CPT code 35474 would be reported twice." You [...]
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