Wiki Lateral Meniscectomy AND lateral repair?

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jruplis

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I have a surgeon that states he did a lateral meniscectomy as well as a lateral meniscal repair. Can this be done? Please see OP note:

There was a bucket-handle fragment peripherally of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. This was gently
debrided using an arthroscopic shaver and a biter. There was a full-thickness horizontal cleavage tear of
the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Considering the patient was only 25 years of age and that this
tear went all the way to the periphery where there was good bleeding and the fact that we were doing an
ACL reconstruction in combination with it, I decided to repair the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus.


Any assistance is appreciated.
 
Hello. I think that yes, this is technically possible for the MD to perform. I highly doubt that insurance will pay for both 29881 & 29882 especially being just the lateral meniscus diagnosis. Prior to meniscus repairs, it is common practice to 'freshen' up or debride the meniscus, for this reason if I were you, I would only bill CPT 29882; They will bundle the lateral meniscectomy into the repair most likely anyways as content of service. My experience in coding for orthopaedics leads me to this conclusion. If you have any more questions about this, please let me know. I am happy to help!
 
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