General Surgery Coding Alert

New open codes acknowledge hiatal hernia repair, too.Open or laparoscopic, through chest or abdominal wall, with or without hiatal hernia repair, with or without mesh ... these are the various ways your surgeon might perform an esophagogastric fundoplasty. And these are the factors you'll need to take into account when you try to pick the proper code(s) from among nine new choices in CPT 2011.Let our experts show the way with four how-to tips for paraesophageal hiatalhernia repair and fundoplication coding for 2011.Tip 1: Understand Pathophysiology"When a patient is described as having a hiatal hernia, it usually means that part of the stomach has herniated through the opening in the diaphragm [esophageal hiatus] into the chest and is usually associated with esophageal reflux disease," according to Gary W. Barone, MD, a physician and associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.The hernia repair typically involves [...]