Ask Dr. Z

Balloon was used to tamponade the hemorrhage. Is there a code for the tamponade, or do we just get codes 37615 and 36215 for ligation? "We then placed a 6 French 70 cm sheath into the proximal brachiocephalic artery. We utilized contrast injections from the brachiocephalic artery sheath to visualize the area of bleeding. Once this was performed, I then utilized a 6 mm x 6 cm balloon and carefully inflated this to a nominal pressure within the right common carotid artery. Once this was performed we had adequate hemostasis. The vascular surgery team then went ahead and performed the right carotid artery ligation. At this point in time, neurosurgery was available and performed cerebral angiography, which they will dictate in a separate note."