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 2023. The coding advice may or may not be outdated.

AVG Failure, AVF creation with same vein

Date: Sep 13, 2023

Question:

"Patient has failed AVG in the forearm and presents for new AVF. The cephalic vein was identified, which had been part of the previous graft. The graft was dissected, and the segment connected to the cephalic vein was excised. The lateral branch of the cephalic vein through which the graft was connected was remodeled and oversewn with stitches. Brachial artery and cephalic vein were used to create the new AVF. Only the cephalic end of the AVG was removed."

Would this be considered a revision or removal with modifier -52 and new AVF code? (Brachial artery not used in the original AVG)

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!