Cardiology Coding Alert

You Be The Coder:

Include Radiological S&I

Question: I know that CPT considers the common femoral and superficial femoral two vessels, but which codes should I use when the doctor performs angioplasty in each one of these vessels to address two separate lesions? I've been reporting 35474 twice. Is this correct?


Missouri Subscriber


Answer: Yes, to correctly code the angioplasty procedures you describe, you should report 35474 twice.

You also need to report the appropriate radiological supervision and interpretation of the services: 75962-26 (Transluminal balloon angioplasty, peripheral artery, radiological supervision and interpretation; professional component) and +75964-26 (Transluminal balloon angioplasty, each additional peripheral artery, radiological supervision and interpretation [list separately in addition to code for primary procedure]; professional component). 

If the catheter access was on the patient's contralateral side, you should also report 36247 (Selective catheter placement, arterial system; initial third-order or more selective abdominal, pelvic, or lower-extremity artery branch, within a vascular family) for the physician's placement of the catheter. 
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