Revenue Cycle Insider

Question: My practitioner just performed a knee meniscectomy. How should I code this procedure?

2026 HEALTHCON Attendee

Answer: This will depend on what type of approach the orthopedic surgeon used. According to Nate Felt, MS, ATC, PTA, CPC, during his HEALTHCON 2026 presentation, “Dissecting Orthopedic Surgeries,” your options for meniscectomy coding are:

• 29880 (Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial AND lateral, including any meniscal shaving) including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), same or separate compartment(s), when performed)
• 29881 (… with meniscectomy (medial OR lateral, including any meniscal shaving) including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), same or separate compartment(s), when performed)

“Think of this surgery as removing a hangnail that can get caught in the joint,” Felt said.

Make note: “Code 29887 [… drilling for intact osteochondritis dissecans lesion with internal fixation] must never be reported when a medial and/or lateral meniscectomy is performed in the same knee during the same operative session,” said Felt.

Lindsey Bush, BA, MA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC