Ask Dr. Z

Ask Dr. Z Knowledge Base houses over 7,500 coding questions and answers dating back to 2013.

Ask Dr. Z Disclaimer

Please note this question was answered in 2020. The coding advice may or may not be outdated.

Fem Fem Bypass with Prosthetic to Prosthetic composite

Date: Feb 12, 2020

Question:

"Dissection was deepened to the level of the common femoral artery. The common, superficial, and deep femoral arteries were isolated. Second incision in similar fashion overlying the left femoral artery. Exposure and control of the arteries. Tunneling between two incisions in a subcutaneous plane just superficial to the rectus sheath using a curved Kelly-wick tunneler. A 7 mm propaten graft was tunneld between the two incisions. Old graft was disconnected, and the thrombus was removed. The left limb of the graft was spatulated and anastomosed to the stump of the old graft using a 5-0 prolene in a running fashion. Now right femoral artery. Arteriotomy was made. Old graft was transected above the anastomosis. The thrombus was removed. The graft was cut to length, spatulated, and anastomosed to the artery using the same suture. Flushing maneuvers were performed and flow was established. There was good hemostasis at the suture lines. The femoral pulses were palpable bilaterally." What CPT codes should be reported? 35661 and 35875? How about the composite graft of old with new?

Sign up for a membership to view the answer to this question.

Need to ask Dr.Z?

Don't see the answer you're looking for in the knowledge base? No problem. You can ask Dr. Z directly!
Ask Dr. Z a question now!