Wiki Spine Fusion

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thice

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My physician wants to know what the best code is for a surgical repair of lumbar pars defect? The diagnosis is lumbar spondylolysis. Is a fusion (22612) or vertebral augmentation (22524) the best way to go?
 
You need to code the procedure that was done, was it a fusion (open procedure) or percutaneous( needle for injection) vertebral augmentation?
 
He hasn't done the surgery yet. He was trying to figure out the best route to go. I think he wanted opinions from other Orthopaedic doctors to see how they would approah it.
 
thice said:
He hasn't done the surgery yet. He was trying to figure out the best route to go. I think he wanted opinions from other Orthopaedic doctors to see how they would approah it.
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Then he probably needs to get opinions from physicians' forums, or send the patient for a second opinion. Coders absolutely cannot make recommendations on which procedure the physician should perform :eek:
 
If you mean just how to approach doing the procedure then I agree with Meagan that coders can not reccomend procedures to physicians, he would need to speak with his partners or other ortho dr's. If you mean he is not sure how this will be coded, I would tell him you cant code this until it is done and to document in great detail exactly what he did so that you can look at both codes and see what would be more appropriate based on the documentation.
 
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