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Cardiology Coding Alert

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Coronary Kissing Balloons

Published on Wed May 01, 2002

Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.
Question: How should a coronary kissing balloon be coded?

Ohio Subscriber

Answer: The term "kissing balloon" refers to two balloons that are inserted and remain close to each other and are inflated at the same time, hence "kissing." For example, a cardiologist may place two balloon catheters for a tandem PTCA: One in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), the other in the diagonal branch.
 
As with all coronary interventions, the "kissing" intervention may be reported only once because only one intervention per coronary vessel may be reported. Multiple interventions in the same vessel (or its branches) may not be billed separately.
 
Therefore, 92982 (Percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty; single vessel) is reported once because the diagonal vessel is a branch of the LAD.
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