Reader Questions:
Turn to Twist Drill/Burr Hole for Monitor Placement
Published on Tue Jan 27, 2009
Question: What is the correct code for placement of right frontal Camino intracranial pressure monitor?Arizona Subscriber Answer: The answer depends on the method the surgeon used to place the pressure monitor. If the surgeon uses a twist drill (a handheld device), report 61107 (Twist drill hole[s] for subdural, intracerebral, or ventricular puncture; for implanting ventricular catheter, pressure recording device, or other intracerebral monitoring device). If the surgeon uses a power burr or similar instrument to create the hole(s), instead report 61210 (Burr hole[s]; for implanting ventricular catheter, reservoir, EEG electrode[s], pressure recording device, or other cerebral monitoring device [separate procedure]). Technical and coding guidance for You Be the Coder and Reader Questions provided by Gregory Przybylski, MD, director of neurosurgery at the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, JFK Medical Center in Edison.