Urology Coding Alert
Verify This to Determine MMK or Burch
Question: I am new to urology coding and am having trouble distinguishing between an MMK procedure and a Burch procedure. How can I tell the difference based on the urologist’s documentation, and how do I relate that to choosing the right code? Utah Subscriber Answer: A Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz (MMK) procedure and a Burch procedure are indeed similar, so your confusion is understandable. The difference really is where the urologist places the sutures. During an MMK procedure, the surgeon places sutures into the vaginal wall at the level of the urethra and bladder neck and anchors them to the pubic bone. For a Burch sling procedure, the surgeon would anchor the sutures to the Cooper’s ligament. Coding: >The good news is that it really doesn’t matter whether your urologist performed an MMK or a Burch procedure when you are looking for the right procedure code for an abdominal retropubic suspension. You’ll choose from two codes when filing the claim: either 51840 (Anterior vesicourethropexy, or urethropexy (eg, Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz, Burch); simple) or 51841 (… complicated (eg, secondary repair)) depending on the level of service.
Urology Coding Alert
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Verify This to Determine MMK or Burch
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