Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Key: Your ob-gyn's documentation must emphasize the unusual difficulty. Last month, Codify's Ob-Gyn Specialty Corner asked what your biggest obgyn challenge is, and the overwhelming response was "how to report lysis of adhesions separately." You can ethically report lysis of adhesions with your ob-gyn's primary surgery, either with a specific code or with modifier 22, in these situations: 1. The lysis of adhesions is extensive. Words to look for in the record might include "very difficult," "unusually difficult," and so on. 2. The adhesions are in a different anatomic site from the main procedure(s). Remember: Pelvic adhesions are bands of fibrous scar tissue that can form in the abdomen and pelvis after surgery or due to infection. Because adhesions connect organs and tissue that are normally separated, they can lead to a variety of complications, including pelvic pain, infertility,and bowel obstruction. Adhesions commonly form on the ovaries, pelvic sidewalls and [...]