EmailAchilles tendon repair and debridement
Publication Date: June 2020
Implementation Date: 1/07/2020
ICD 10 AM Edition: Eleventh Edition
Query Number: 3541
This patient was admitted with an Achilles tendon rupture.
The title on the operation report is left tendoachilles repair.
In the body of the operation report it is documented that the tear was identified and debrided. It was then repaired with PDS suture using Krakow techinique with augment repair of tendon and paratendon with 2.0 vicryl.
VICC query #3073 Debridement with repair states: “VICC considers that a code for the suture in addition to the debridement code is not required, regardless of the depth of the debridement, as the suture is a component of the procedure. This is in accordance with ACS 0016 General procedure guidelines under section titled 'Procedural components' and ACCD Coding Rules Q2880 titled Debridement of skin with suturing published in March 2015”.
As such, do we apply this advice and only assign a code for the debridement? (Repair being a procedural component of the debridement).
Or should a code for the tendoachilles repair be assigned? (As this is the title of the operation).
Can the committee please advise what procedure code(s) should be assigned for Achilles tendon repair with documentation of debridement?
The title on the operation report is left tendoachilles repair.
In the body of the operation report it is documented that the tear was identified and debrided. It was then repaired with PDS suture using Krakow techinique with augment repair of tendon and paratendon with 2.0 vicryl.
VICC query #3073 Debridement with repair states: “VICC considers that a code for the suture in addition to the debridement code is not required, regardless of the depth of the debridement, as the suture is a component of the procedure. This is in accordance with ACS 0016 General procedure guidelines under section titled 'Procedural components' and ACCD Coding Rules Q2880 titled Debridement of skin with suturing published in March 2015”.
As such, do we apply this advice and only assign a code for the debridement? (Repair being a procedural component of the debridement).
Or should a code for the tendoachilles repair be assigned? (As this is the title of the operation).
Can the committee please advise what procedure code(s) should be assigned for Achilles tendon repair with documentation of debridement?
Response
VICC notes that, for the operation report supplied with this query, the procedure was documented as "Tendoachilles repair" for a ruptured Achilles tendon, so the Index lead term to follow is Repair/tendon/Achilles'. As debridement of the tendon was documented, and there are no excludes notes in the ACHI Tabular list, VICC considers that an additional code for debridement of tendon can be assigned following the Index lead term Debridement/tendon - see Debridement/soft tissue.
Therefore, the codes assigned for this scenario would be:
49718-01 [1542] Repair of Achilles' tendon
30023-00 [1566] Debridement of soft tissue
Therefore, the codes assigned for this scenario would be:
49718-01 [1542] Repair of Achilles' tendon
30023-00 [1566] Debridement of soft tissue
