Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: How should we use the V code when reporting treatment of a patient for arthritis who has had a total knee arthroplasty (TKA)?

Minnesota Subscriber  
Answer: The diagnosis code(s) you report should reflect the primary reason for the patient encounter. If the patient is returning for routine follow-up of his or her TKA (27447, Arthroplasty, knee, condyle and plateau; medial AND lateral compartments with or without patella resurfacing [total knee arthroplasty]) outside of the global period and he or she is asymptomatic, report V67.09 (Follow-up examination; following other surgery) and V43.65 (Organ or tissue replaced by other means; joint; knee). If the patient is being treated for any residual conditions, such as a joint contracture, report the code for the residual condition (e.g., 718.46, Contracture of joint; lower leg) with V43.65.
  You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were answered by Terry Fletcher, BS, CPC, CCS-P, CCS, a healthcare coding consultant based in Laguna Beach, Calif.; and Heidi Stout, CPC, CCS-P, coding and reimbursement manager at University Orthopedic Associates in New Brunswick, N.J.