Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Which CPT codes describe left anterior descending artery PTCA with stent insertion and right coronary artery PTCA with atherectomy?Maryland SubscriberAnswer: You should report the following:• 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• +92996-RC -- Percutaneous transluminal coronary atherectomy, by mechanical or other method, with or without balloon angioplasty; each additional vessel (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure); Right coronary artery.92980: Reporting 92980-LD covers both the left anterior descending percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and stent placement. Reason: Coding guidelines indicate you should include the PTCA in the stent code. Specifically, CPT states that "coronary angioplasty [92982, +92984, Percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty ...] or atherectomy [92995, +92996, Percutaneous transluminal coronary atherectomy ...], in the same artery, is considered part of the stenting procedure [92980] and is not reported separately."+92996: For the [...]