General Surgery Coding Alert
Avoid C9733 for Physician Billing
Question: During a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, our surgeon performs an injection of fluorescent dye (indocyanine green) to identify biliary anatomy. Can the surgeon bill separately for the injection, and if so, should we use C9733?
Codify Subscriber
Answer: You should not report the surgeon’s injection to visualize biliary anatomy using C9733 (Non-ophthalmic fluorescent vascular angiography). That code is for vascular angiography, and the biliary tree is definitely not vascular.
Also, the HCPCS Level II “C” codes are for hospital outpatient billing, so you shouldn’t use C9733 or other C codes for physician billing.
There is not a specific code for the service you describe. You might want to use an unlisted code such as 47999 (Unlisted procedure, biliary tract).
Bottom line: You should bill the procedure you describe as 47563 (Laparoscopy, surgical; cholecystectomy with cholangiography). You may also bill for the additional visualization of the biliary tree using an unlisted code.
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Avoid C9733 for Physician Billing
Question: During a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, our surgeon performs an injection of fluorescent dye (indocyanine green) to [...]
