Neurosurgery Coding Alert

To code your r herniated disc procedures accurately, keep this terms list handy.

Laminotomy (Hemilaminectomy): This is a procedure to remove the mid-portion of a lamina of the vertebral arch, i.e. the upper and lower portions of adjacent laminae (laminae on either side of a vertebral interspace). This helps to decompress the corresponding spinal cord and/or spinal nerve root. When your surgeon performs two hemilaminectomies at adjacent levels, you can report as two hemilaminectomies as long as the surgeon excises the intervertebral discs as well and decompresses two nerve roots.

Facetectomy: This procedure is done to remove the facets in the vertebral body. Facets are the articular surfaces where two vertebrae form a joint.

Foraminotomy: Your neurosurgeon will perform this procedure to expand the openings for the nerve roots where these exit the vertebral bodies.