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Upgrade of Dual PM to a Biv PM

Date: Sep 29, 2021

Question:

The patient comes in with a dual pacemaker at end of life. The decision is made to replace a biventricular pacemaker and add an extra lead. I'm a little confused about how this is coded. Should we use the initial pacemaker insertion/ replacement for these procedures (33206-33208), and is it appropriate to also code the removal of the old pacemaker? We are looking at code 33208 with 33225 vs. 33228/33229. Codes 33228 and 33229 seem like they should be used when a dual or biventricular pacemaker is changed for the same unit.

Question ID : 16059
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