Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Is Endothelial + Cataract IOL OK?

Published on Fri Jul 10, 2009

Question: An ophthalmic surgeon performs cataract surgery with IOL placement and then performs endothelial keratoplasty (65756). Are these procedures bundled? I know CCI bundles 66984 with 65755. Does the same placement bundle apply to 65756?

Missouri Subscriber

Answer: No, at this point, the Correct Coding Initiative does not include the intraocular lens (IOL) placement code in either keratoplasty code that you mention. Therefore, you can code the cataract surgery with IOL placement (66984, Extracapsular cataract removal with insertion of intraocular lens prosthesis [1 stage procedure], manual or mechanical technique [e.g., irrigation and aspiration or phacoemulsification]) and the endothelial keratoplasty (65756, Keratoplasty [corneal transplant]; endothelial). On the other hand, if the surgeon had done a penetrating keratoplasty (65755, ... penetrating [in pseudophakia]), this procedure is bundled with the IOL placement (66984) and cannot be billed unless the two procedures were performed on opposite eyes.

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