Radiology Coding Alert
Can You Report a Bulging Disc as Displaced?
Question: A patient was referred to our radiology practice for X-rays of their lumbosacral region. The radiologist captured lateral and anteroposterior (AP) views of the patient’s lumbosacral spine. After reviewing the results, the patient was diagnosed with a right far lateral disc bulge at L5-S1. I’m unsure how to code the diagnosis. Is a disc displacement the same as a disc bulge? Louisiana Subscriber Answer: You’ll assign M51.37 (Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region) to report the patient’s diagnosis of a right far lateral disc bulge. Disc bulge, or variants of that phrase, is not listed in the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index, but a bulging disc is not the same as a displaced or herniated disc. A bulging disc occurs over time due to the degeneration of the disc. Therefore, you should look to Degeneration, degenerative > intervertebral disc NOS > lumbosacral region, which provides you with M51.37. You can then verify the code in the tabular list. Additionally, you’ll assign 72100 (Radiologic examination, spine, lumbosacral; 2 or 3 views) to report the X-rays of the patient’s lumbosacral spine.
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