General Surgery Coding Alert

The August 2002 General Surgery Coding Alert (page 58) incorrectly stated that when reporting 37785 (Ligation, division, and/or excision of recurrent or secondary varicose veins [clusters], one leg) during the same operative session as 37720 (Ligation and division and complete stripping of long or short saphenous veins) or 37730 ( of long and short saphenous veins) you may append modifier -59 (Distinct procedural service) to 37785. In fact, because the national Correct Coding Initiative designates 37785 as the "column 1" mutually exclusive code, you should instead append modifier -59 to the "column 2" codes 37720/37730 when these procedures are reported for the same operative session. Note also that designated column 1 procedures are not necessarily more comprehensive than the column 2 codes with which they are paired, as stated in the article. However, if a column 1 and column 2 code are reported together without an appropriate modifier, CCI guidelines state that only the column 1 procedure will be reimbursed.