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Question: What is the difference between a laminectomy and a hemilaminectomy, and which CPT^® codes should I use to report each procedure?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: A laminectomy is the excision or removal of the entire vertebral lamina; this term is often used to describe the elimination of the posterior arch during a surgical procedure, according to Jennifer McNamara, CPC, CCS, CRC, CPMA, CDEO, COSC, CGSC, COPC, director of healthcare training and practice support at Healthcare Inspired LLC in Bella Vista, Arkansas.

You’d report laminectomy with the following codes, depending on encounter specifics:

• 63047 (Laminectomy, facetectomy and foraminotomy (unilateral or bilateral with decompression of spinal cord, cauda equina and/or nerve root[s], [eg, spinal or lateral recess stenosis]), single vertebral segment; lumbar)
• +63048 (… each additional vertebral segment, cervical, thoracic, or lumbar (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure))
• +63052 (Laminectomy, facetectomy, or foraminotomy (unilateral or bilateral with decompression of spinal cord, cauda equina and/or nerve root[s] [eg, spinal or lateral recess stenosis]), during posterior interbody arthrodesis, lumbar; single vertebral segment (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure))
• +63053 (… each additional vertebral segment (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure))

A hemilaminectomy “encompasses the partial removal of a vertebral lamina, often performed for purposes like accessing or decompressing the contents within the spinal canal,” McNamara explained during her HEALTHCON 2025 presentation “Inside a Spinal Fusion: Anatomy, Coding, Documentation, and Policy.”

You’ll report hemilaminectomies with one of the following codes, depending on encounter specifics:

• 63020 (Laminotomy (hemilaminectomy), with decompression of nerve root(s), including partial facetectomy, foraminotomy and/or excision of herniated intervertebral disc; 1 interspace, cervical)
• 63030 (…  1 interspace, lumbar).

Chris Boucher, MS, CPC, Senior Development Editor, AAPC