what is the icd-10-pcs code for release of tethered lumbar spinal cord open approach

What is ICD-10-PCS?

The ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) is a catalog of procedural codes used by medical professionals for hospital inpatient healthcare settings. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintain the catalog in the U.S. releasing yearly updates. These 2022 ICD-10-PCS codes are to be used for discharges occurring from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.

How many decimals are in the ICD-10 code?

Each ICD-10-PCS code has a structure of seven alphanumeric characters and contains no decimals . The first character defines the major "section". Depending on the "section" the second through seventh characters mean different things.

What is the procedure to remove a portion of the spinal cord?

There are differing procedures that can accomplish decompression of the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots. These include laminotomy (removal of small portion of lamina)/laminectomy (removal of entire bony lamina); foraminotomy/foraminectomy to remove bone around the neural foramen; discectomy to remove a portion of bulging or herniated or degenerative disc; osteophyte (bony growth or bone spurs) removal; corpectomy to remove all or a part of the body of a vertebra and laminoplasty which is the expansion of the spinal canal by cutting the lamina to release the spinal cord.

What is the objective of decompressing the spinal cord?

Read and be guided by the method being used to decompress the area, remember that various procedures can decompress the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots, but the objective is to release the compression and the root operation assigned is “release.”

What is Spinal Compression?

Certain injuries and disorders may put pressure on the spinal cord itself or of spinal nerve roots which arise from the spinal cord and pass through spaces between the vertebrae. These conditions that cause compression can include:

Where do nerve roots come from?

Nerve roots come off the end of the cord (cauda equina) and exit the spine . This is a frequent location of nerve compression. This would signal that the coder use the body part for the level of spinal nerve in the Peripheral Nervous System Body System. (i.e., cervical nerve, thoracic nerve, lumbar nerve, sacral nerve)

Is spinal decompression coding complicated?

Spinal procedure coding can be daunting for coders. The spine itself can be quite complicated anatomically and the procedures done to address spinal conditions can be even more complicated! HIA has developed an educational Action Plan to address one of these areas, spinal decompression coding. Below are a few excerpts from that Action Plan.