Wiki Newbie still learning 29876 & 29879??

MELJNBBRB

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Hi list I need the " experts " to weigh in am I coding this correctly as 29876-lt and 29879-lt?

TIA<
MB,CCS,CPC



PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSES:

Left knee pain, synovitis, internal derangement, arthritis and

chronic pain.



POSTOPERATIVE DIAGNOSES:

Left knee pain, synovitis and arthritis, chondromalacia

abundant scar and chondromalacia of the medial joint and bone

spurs with significant scar tissue noted.



PROCEDURE:

Arthroscopic examination with synovectomy and debridement of

scar in all compartments and abrasion arthroplasty of the

medial femoral condyle and the patellofemoral area.



SURGEON:





ANESTHESIA:

General LMA.



ESTIMATED BLOOD LOSS:

Minimal.



COMPLICATIONS:

None.



BRIEF CLINICAL HISTORY:

This is a 42-year-old black male with history of a previous

injury to his knee and multiple surgeries including ACL

reconstruction. He has had several debridements of the knee

and actually get it debrided periodically and had Synvisc

injections done, which lasted for over a year. He is quite

active and rides mountain bikes and works out at the gym

regularly. He has had gradually worsening pain and options of

continued conservative care versus arthroscopic examination

and debridement were discussed with him at length. He

requests surgical treatment.



DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURE:

After taking informed consent, the patient was brought to the

operating room table in supine position. After administration

of general LMA anesthesia, the tourniquet was placed on left

proximal thigh. Time-out was performed. The patient was

identified, appropriate biopsy site had been marked and he

received appropriate antibiotics. Next, the skin was prepped

and 0.5% lidocaine with epinephrine was placed into the knee

joint. The left leg was then sterilely prepped and draped in

a routine manner. An anterolateral arthroscopy portal was

then made and arthroscopic examination was done. The knee was

noted to be quite tight, there was abundant scar tissue and

actually it was difficult to place the scope into the knee

joint. He was placed into the anterior portion of the knee

and the notch area and the joint was examined. There was

abundant scar tissue in this area. The ACL reconstruction

appeared to be intact. There was scarring though in the

notch. An anteromedial portal was made with the aid of a

spinal needle and the area was exposed and it had to be

debrided in order to visualize the rest of the joint. There

was a scar down loose body, which was removed also. The notch

area was thoroughly debrided with ACL and PCL intact and

removing the scar tissue in this area. The scar tissue noted

along the medial and lateral joint also was debrided with

large and small shaver and with the aid of cautery. The

articular surface showed exposed subchondral bone and this was

debrided with a shaver down to bleeding bone. It was elected

not to do microfracture but it was debrided with the shaver

because of the location. There was some bone spurs noted also

mediolaterally which were debrided. The menisci were probed.

There was some fraying *** edge of meniscus, but the

remaining portions were stable. There was some suture

material from some type of repair we had done long time ago

and this was debrided also. The patellofemoral joint showed

some areas of subcondylar bone. These were abraded with the

shaver also down to bleeding bone. Abrasion chondroplasty was

done on the patella and in the medial joint there was also

area of chondromalacia noted on the lateral femoral condyle

and this was debrided. Both gutters in the suprapatellar area

of the anterior joints and notch area were thoroughly debrided

removing extensive scar tissue. Once the scar tissue was

debrided, the knee was better visualized, but again inflamed

synovium and scar tissue throughout the knee. The surgery

took over an hour to debride the joint. *** debridement was

performed. Remainder of the exam was otherwise unremarkable.

Adequate abrasion chondroplasty and abrasion arthroplasty was

done along with the debridement and synovectomy.



Next, the arthroscopy equipment was removed from the knee.

Nylon suture used to approximate the skin edges and the

portals and joints were infiltrated with 1% lidocaine. A

sterile dressing was applied, and the patient was transferred

to the recovery in stable condition
 
Good morning!
So it sounds like the abrasion chondroplasty was performed in the Patellar and Medial parts of the knee. Therefore, 29876 cannot be billed because work in two compartments has already been performed. Another problem with using 29876 or 29875 is that most insurance companies want a specified type of synovial tissue disorder. General synovitis 727.00 or 727.9 are usually an immediate denial because AAOS has recommended that synovial resection for visualization of the knee joint is not separately reimbursable.
For this surgery, I would code:
29879-LT
G0289-59-LT (Use this code to capture the chondroplasty of the lateral compartment)
 
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