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General Surgery Coding Alert

Global Days Restrict Lap-Band Adjustment Pay

Published on Wed Sep 12, 2012

Follow payer guidelines for code choice.Can you collect pay when your surgeon uses the subcutaneous port to adjust a gastric band? That might be the question on your mind now that you know how to code your surgeon's work for placing/removing gastric bands (see "43770 and Beyond: 3 Tips Promise Proper 'Banding' Code Choice" in this issue).Watch Surgical Global PeriodThe answer to the opening question is, "no," you can't collect lap-band adjustment pay -- at least not if you're still in the surgical global period. That's 90 days for 43770 (Laparoscopy, surgical, gastric restrictive procedure; placement of adjustable gastric restrictive device [e.g., gastric band and subcutaneous port components])."CPT® clearly states that band adjustment, to include injecting or aspirating fluid, is part of the typical post-operative follow-up care for adjustable gastric restrictive devices," says Linda Vargas, CPC, CEMC, coding and reimbursement specialist with Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville, Mo.Distinguish 'Adjustment,' 'Revision'Don't [...]
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