Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: Is it right to report 22899 (Unlisted procedure, spine) or 64999 (Unlisted procedure, nervous system) for a minimally invasive diskectomy and minimally invasive lumbar fusion? Is it right to use the codes for open approach?

Florida Subscriber

Answer: If the surgical approach allows direct visualization of the disc through the retractor system, this would be considered an open approach. If an endoscope is required to visualize the disc space, then this would be a percutaneous lumbar fusion that would be reported with an unlisted code.