General Surgery Coding Alert
Open J-Tube Placement
Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer. Question: A patient with a history of laryngeal cancer underwent jejunostomy tube (J-tube) placement. The surgeon began the procedure laparoscopically but converted to an open procedure due to localized adhesions from previous surgeries. The only code I could find is 44015 which is an add-on code. How should I report the service?Answer: The appropriate code to report open J-tube placement is 44300 (Enterostomy or cecostomy tube [e.g. for decompression or feeding] [separate procedure]). In this procedure the surgeon places a tube in the small bowel or cecum. The tube is then brought out through the abdominal wall.
If you place a J-tube separately during another procedure you should report the service using +44015 (Tube or needle catheter jejunostomy for enteral alimentation intraoperative any method [list separately in addition to primary procedure]). Because 44015 is an add-on code do not append modifier -51 (Multiple procedures): The relative value assigned to the code already takes into account its status as an ""additional"" procedure.
General Surgery Coding Alert
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Open J-Tube Placement
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