General Surgery Coding Alert

Question: How should I code for in-office adjustments of gastric lap bands? Arkansas Subscriber Answer: There is no specific code for an adjustment of the gastric band. How, and if, you report gastric lap band adjustments depends on whether the adjustment occurs within the global period of the major procedure. If the patient is still within 90 days of the original surgery, adjustments fall within the global period for post-operative management and you cannot separately report the service. In other words: There is no separate new payment for staged adjustments that fall within the surgical global period. Alternately: If your surgeon performs a medically necessary adjustment after the 90-day global period, you may report the service using 43999 (Unlisted procedure, stomach). Note: If your physician uses fluoroscopic guidance, you can also report 76000 (Fluoroscopy [separate procedure], up to 1 hour physician time, other than 71023 or 71024 [e.g., cardiac fluoroscopy]). [...]