Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: In the left renal artery my doctor performed both angioplasty (35471 and 75966) and stent placement (37205 and 75960). Can we report both angioplasty and stent placement codes in a single renal artery?

Codify Member

Answer: Technically, you may report both angioplasty and stent placement in a single renal artery, but medical necessity may limit you to reporting the stent services:

• 37205, Transcatheter placement of an intravascular stent(s) (except coronary, carotid, vertebral, iliac, and lower extremity arteries), percutaneous; initial vessel
• 75960-26, Transcatheter introduction of intravascular stent(s) (except coronary, carotid, vertebral, iliac, and lower extremity artery), percutaneous and/or open, radiological supervision and interpretation, each vessel; Professional component.

You should report only the stent services if the physician's intent going into the surgery was to place the stent, as is likely for an ostial lesion (one at the opening of the vessel). If angioplasty was the intended treatment, but it failed, leading to stent placement, then documentation needs to be very clear on that point. You may be able to report both services in that case, but coverage is at the payer's discretion.