Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Question: Is there a CPT code for laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy?


North Carolina Subscriber


Answer: Blue Cross Blue Shield put an S code in the database for this procedure. The code is S2078 (Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy [subtotal hysterectomy], with or without removal of tube[s], with or without removal of ovary[s]) and it became effective Jan. 1. 

But you still have two options: billing it as a laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) (58550-58554, depending on the weight of the uterus and whether the ob-gyn removes the tubes and ovaries) with modifier 52 (Reduced services) because the ob-gyn left the cervix in place, or reporting an unlisted procedure (58578). 

The advantage to billing the service with the unlisted-procedure code is that you can avoid an automatic reduction in the allowable due to use of modifier 52, and it gives you the opportunity to more fully describe the work involved.