Health Information Management

ICD-10-PCS root operation: Repair

HIM-HIPAA Insider, March 17, 2014

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Almost all of the ICD-10-PCS root operations describe very specific intent. Think about the difference between root operations Excision and Resection. Excision involves removing some of a body part and Resection is removing all of the body part. That’s a tricky nuance especially when ICD-10-PCS body part values include lobes of organs. If the physician removes the right middle lobe of the patient’s lung, we’ll use root operation Resection because ICD-10-PCS gives each lobe of the lung its own body part value.

 
Then we have root operation Repair. In ICD-10-PCS, Repair is almost a not elsewhere classified kind of root operation. Even the official definition is somewhat vague: Restoring, to the extent possible, a body part to its normal anatomic structure and function.
 
We’ll only use Repair when the method used to accomplish the repair is not one of the other root operations. For example, if the physician performs a herniorrhaphy, we would code Repair. However, if the physician used mesh to perform the herniorrhaphy, we would go to the root operation Supplement (putting in device that reinforces or augments a body part). The physician implanted mesh (a device) to shore up the weak spot, so the procedure is no longer a simple repair.
 
What does qualify as a repair? For one, suturing a laceration, such as:
  • 0LQ30ZZ, suture repair of right biceps tendon laceration, open
  • 0WQF0ZZ, closure of abdominal wall stab wound
One more thing to keep in mind—closure of an operative incision does not qualify as a repair. Closing the patient is an integral part of the surgical procedure.
 
This article originally appeared on HCPro’s ICD-10 Trainer blog.



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