Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: Our patient ruptured the right pectoralis major muscle while doing a bench press, and the physician performed surgical muscle repair. Which CPT code should we report?


Nevada Subscriber


Answer: Although most coders look to the shoulder repair codes for pectoralis muscle repairs, most experts actually advise that you report 24341 (Repair, tendon or muscle, upper arm or elbow, each tendon or muscle, primary or secondary [excludes rotator cuff]) for this procedure.

Although many practices believe that the pectoralis major is part of the shoulder, actually, the muscle attaches to the humerus.