29881 – Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial OR lateral, including any meniscal shaving) 29882 – Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscus repair (medial OR lateral) 29883 – Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscus repair (medial AND lateral)
The code 29879 can be assigned in addition to 29881. Note: Some times a physician may indicate he did a meniscus repair when he really meant a meniscectomy. The operative report may include some description of sutures or “arrows” into the meniscus if a repair was performed.
(CPT® Assistant April 2005; page 14) An important HCPCS code is G0289, Arthroscopy, knee, surgical, for removal of loose body, debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) at the time of other surgical knee arthroscopy in a different compartment of the same knee.
29883 Arthroscopy, knee, surgical with meniscus repair (medial AND lateral) For meniscus repair, the surgeon repairs the torn part of the cartilage with dart- or arrow-shaped devices, which are absorbed by the body over time.
M23.306 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM M23.306 became effective on October 1, 2021. This is the American ICD-10-CM version of M23.306 - other international versions of ICD-10 M23.306 may differ. deformity of knee ( M21.-)
In ICD-10-PCS, arthroscopy goes to the root operation “inspection,” which is defined as visually and/or manually exploring a body part. Therefore, an arthroscopy of the right knee is classified to code 0SJC4ZZ, and arthroscopy of the left knee is classified to code 0SJD4ZZ.
Other tear of lateral meniscus, current injury, unspecified knee, initial encounter. S83. 289A is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM S83.
S83. 281A - Other tear of lateral meniscus, current injury, right knee [initial encounter] | ICD-10-CM.
Partial meniscectomy is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure in which an arthroscope and fine arthroscopic instruments are used to resect portions of a symptomatic, torn meniscus. There are multiple types of tear patterns, but regardless, only the unstable torn sections are removed.
Tear of meniscus, current injury S83. 2-
242A for Other tear of medial meniscus, current injury, left knee, initial encounter is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes .
Derangement of posterior horn of lateral meniscus due to old tear or injury, right knee. M23. 251 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM M23.
S83. 241 - Other tear of medial meniscus, current injury, right knee. ICD-10-CM.
11 Unilateral primary osteoarthritis, right knee.
A meniscectomy is a type of surgery that's used to treat a damaged meniscus. A meniscus is a structure made of cartilage that helps your knee work properly. You have two of them in each knee: lateral meniscus, near the outer edge of your knee joint. medial meniscus, near the edge on the inside of your knee.
Example 1—The surgeon performs and documents arthroscopic left lateral meniscectomy and arthroscopic tricompartmental chondroplasty and reports CPT code 29881.
The Medial and Lateral Meniscectomy are crescent-shaped bands of thick, rubbery cartilage attached to the shinbone (tibia). They act as shock absorbers and stabilize the knee. Meniscus tears can vary widely in size and severity.
An arthroscopy with a medial meniscectomy and shaving of the articular cartilage in the lateral compartment is performed on the left knee, commercial carrier. An arthroscopy with a medial meniscectomy and shaving of the articular cartilage in the lateral compartment is performed on the left knee, Medicare patient.
Arthroscopy: Knee arthroscopy allows the physician to visualize the joint space of the knee using a fiberoptic en doscope. (An endoscope is basically a long tube with a lens at each end. Endoscopes used to visualize joint spaces are call arthroscopes). This Technology also allows the physician to perform arthroscopic surgery using.
procedure. Arthroscopic knee surgery usually involved at least two incisions. The first incision is made on the lateral side of the patellar incision-this is where the arthroscope is inserted. Additional incisions are made, one on the medial side of the patellar tendon and other as needed, for the insertion of surgical instruments.
However, if debridement or shaving of articular cartilage is performed in one compartment of the knee and a meniscectomy is performed in a different compartment of the knee, then codes 29877, Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), and 29881 should be reported.
Most surgeons treat meniscus tears with arthroscopic surgery, which involves inserting a thin, flexible fiber-optic device into a small incision in the knee. The surgeon then maneuvers tools through the arthroscope or additional incisions in the knee.
29881 Arthroscopy, knee, surgical with meniscectomy (medial OR lateral, including any meniscal shaving) including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), same or separate compartment (s), when performed. During a meniscectomy, the surgeon removes a piece of the torn meniscus or the entire meniscus.
Medicare reinforces its definition of G0289 in Chapter IV of the NCCI guidelines: “HCPCS code G0289 shall not be reported for removal of a loose body or foreign body or debridement/shaving of articular cartilage from the same compartment as another knee arthroscopic procedure.”.
Diagnostic arthroscopies are used to examine and diagnose problems in the knee joint; surgical arthroscopies are used to treat diseased or damaged areas such as torn menisci, chondromalacia, or inflamed synovium.
And the patellofemoral compartment includes the patella, patellofemoral joint, intercondylar femoral notch, suprapatellar pouch, and the trochlea. The meniscus is a c-shaped piece of cartilage between the tibia and femur, which absorbs shock, provides a cushion between the bones, and keeps the knee stable.
Although the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) bundles 29877 Arthroscopy, knee, surgical debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) and the meniscal repair codes, with a “0” modifier indicator, which typically means you cannot separately report the codes under any circumstance, Medicare allows providers to separately report chondroplasty with meniscal repairs if performed in a different compartment of the same knee. Medicare instructs coders to use HCPCS Level II code G0289 Arthroscopy, knee, surgical, for removal of loose body, foreign body, debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) at the time of other surgical knee arthroscopy in a different compartment of the same knee. Do not separately report chondroplasty if another surgery is performed in the same compartment.
Three compartments comprise the knee: medial, lateral, and patellofemoral. The medial compartment includes the medial femoral condyle, medial tibial plateau, and medial meniscus. The lateral compartment consists of the lateral femoral condyle, lateral tibial plateau, and lateral meniscus. And the patellofemoral compartment includes the patella, patellofemoral joint, intercondylar femoral notch, suprapatellar pouch, and the trochlea.
“From a CPT® coding perspective, if debridement or shaving of articular cartilage and meniscectomy are performed in the same compartment of the knee, then only code 29881, Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial or lateral, including any meniscal shaving), should be reported. However, if debridement or shaving of articular cartilage is performed in one compartment of the knee and a meniscectomy is performed in a different compartment of the knee, then codes 29877, Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), and 29881 should be reported.”
An important HCPCS code is G0289, Arthroscopy, knee, surgical, for removal of loose body, debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) at the time of other surgical knee arthroscopy in a different compartment of the same knee. This code is used for Medicare to report the procedure in that description, when performed in a separate compartment of the knee during the same operative session. It is not appropriate to use code 29877 even with a modifier.
29880 Arthroscopy medial and lateral meniscectomy G0289 for the Arthroscopic removal of a loose body in a separate compartment 29880 is coded for the medial AND lateral meniscectomy Since the loose body removal was done in a separate compartment (patellofemoral), the G0289 is coded.
29888 – ACL Repair G0289 - Arthroscopy, knee, surgical, for removal of loose body, debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) at the time of other surgical knee arthroscopy in a different compartment of the same knee
Slippery and flexible, hyaline (articular) cartilage within the knee joint allows, has less friction than two pieces of glass placed together. This allows the joint to move with minimal friction in a healthy knee. There are two primary types of cartilage in the knee:
29876 for the extensive synovectomy is the only code reported. G0289 for the loose body is NOT CODED because the synovectomy was done in the same compartment as the loose body and therefore it was not in a separate compartment and is not to be coded.
The ACL prevents the femur from sliding backwards on the tibia. Together with the posterior cruciate ligament, the ACL stabilizes the knee in a rotational fashion. CPT coding guidelines provide for coding multiple procedures performed on the knee in different compartments.
Yes, knee arthroscopy is usually covered by health insurance. Always check with your insurer to make sure a procedure is covered before seeking treatment. Your insurer may require pre-certification prior to agreeing to cover your knee arthroscopy.
Both procedures code 29881 and 29875 were performed on the same anatomically related region (knee); therefore, 29875 cannot be reported with 29881 and the use of modifier 59 is not supported. As a result, reimbursement is not recommended.
You should always ask and then confirm that your provider is going to obtain precertification for your knee arthroscopy before you receive treatment. If your provider does not obtain pre-certification prior to your knee arthroscopy, you will need to call the health plan and request pre-certification yourself.
A “separate procedure” should not be reported when performed along with another procedure in an anatomically related region through the same skin incision or orifice, or surgical approach.”. The Division finds that because code 29875 has the parenthetical statement “separate procedure” the CCI policyapplies. Both procedures code 29881 and 29875 ...
CPT 29876- 59 as billed is not supported in the documentation because the synovectomy was performed in the same compartments as the meniscectomy (medial and lateral) and same site as the ACE; therefore Modifier 59 is not supported. CPT 20610 flags a NCCI Edit when billed with CPT 29880, 29876, and 29888.