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Orthopedic Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Arthroscopic Surgery

Published on Tue May 01, 2001

Question: If a diagnostic arthroscopy (29870) is done on the medial compartment of the knee, and a surgical arthroscopy with a meniscectomy is done on the lateral compartment (29881), is 29870 separately billable with a modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) because it is done on a different compartment from 29881?

New Jersey Subscriber

Answer: The instructional notes at the beginning of the Endoscopy/Arthroscopy subsection of CPT state that surgical arthroscopy always includes a diagnostic arthroscopy. Therefore, whenever an arthroscopic surgical procedure is performed on the knee, a diagnostic arthroscopy of the knee is included, regardless of the compartments of the knee involved, and 29870 should not be reported.


Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions provided by Heidi Stout, CPC, CCS-P, coding and reimbursement manager at University Orthopedic Associates in New Brunswick, N.J.
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