Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Find out in 5 minutes whether you're using 22520-22525 correctly

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are both fairly new procedures with relatively new CPT codes. Take this quiz to see if you understand the differences between the procedures and how you should report them. Look for quiz answers later in this issue.

Question 1: True or false: During vertebroplasty, the neurosurgeon inserts an inflatable bone tamp into the vertebral space and inflates it to help restore vertebral height. After the surgeon creates the space in the vertebrae, he injects cement to fill the space.

Question 2: Which of the following codes would you use to report a kyphoplasty procedure that a neurosurgeon performs on a single lumbar vertebral body of a patient with osteoporosis?

A. 22523
B. 22524
C. S2362
D. All of the above
E. None of the above

Question 3: True or false: You can report more than one primary code when the neurosurgeon performs a vertebroplasty procedure at multiple levels.

Question 4: True or false: If the neurosurgeon uses radiological supervision for needle positioning and injection assessment during a kyphoplasty procedure, you can separately report this service.