Please note this question was answered in 2020. The coding advice may or may not be outdated.
Brachial to radial and ulnar artery bypass
Question:
Would this be 35523 and 35523-52? Or just one 35523? "The great saphenous vein was prepared, situated in a reversed fashion, and spatulated. An end-to-end brachial artery-GSV anastomosis, an end-to-side radial-GSV anastomosis, and end-to-side ulnar-GSV anastomosis were created, with 6-0 prolene sutures created in sequential fashion. Care was taken not to narrow the lumen." The code description for 35523 states "brachial - ulnar, or -radial" instead of "and/or", so can we code two with one being a reduced service since it didn't have a different incision site and technically only ONE anastomosis was done for the brachial-ulnar artery bypass, as the brachial anastomosis would be included in the first 35523 for the brachial-radial?
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