Ask Dr. Z

I have a patient on whom the physician has used a DFINE Stabili kit to perform what I would consider a "kyphoplasty" procedure. The physician performed a cavity creation by using a curved osteotome and then placed cement in the vertebral body of the L1. I have had this procedure pulled for an audit, and the auditor counted this as a vertebroplasty because the physician did not use a balloon during the procedure. I was told if the DFINE Stabili kit meets the definition of a kyphoplasty then it would be appropriate to code it as one. Can you give me some insight on this?