Ask Dr. Z

In performing an angioplasty and stent implant, the balloon ruptured. Several attempts were made to remove the balloon to no avail; however, the physician made certain it dislodged into a secondary branch of the left lung middle lobe. I believe it should be reported with code 37799 with modifier -22. I believe it probably needs to be coded as an unlisted code, as I don’t think you’re going to find any code that describes this. However, there is another employee who believes it should be reportd with code 37197 with modifier -52. I disagree, as nothing was retrieved. Any thoughts??