Wiki 43276 stent exchange

[traughbert]

By stent "removal and exchange" does it mean the stent is removed and replaced in the exact same spot?

Documentation states: metal stent was placed into the common bile duct. Bile flowed throught the stent. Stent in good position. One stent was removed from the biliary tree using a snare.

So...the stent was not removed and replaced in same spot. I think it should be 43274 stent placement and 43275 removal foreign body. Fellow coder thinks it should be 43276 - stent exchange.

Which would be correct?

Thanks for your help

 

[MAult142]

The biliary tree is a more general term that refers to all the ducts that connect the liver, pancreas and gallbladder to the intestines. The common bile duct is one duct in the biliary tree. So when the doctor says that he removed the stent from the biliary tree, he is not telling you exactly which duct he removed it from. He could be referring to the common bile duct when he says billiary tree, in which case he removed and replaced in the same spot. Or he could be referring to another duct entirely, but until you query him for more information, you don't have enough detail to make your code selection.