Laparoscopic Cystectomy Coding

[摘要] Although the open (incisional) approach to cystectomy (simple or radical) is regarded as a standard approach to the surgical removal of the bladder for benign and malignant conditions, laparoscopic and robot-assisted approaches are becoming more popular. Laparoscopic and robotic cystectomy procedures can be safely performed with acceptably low risk of blood loss, transfusion, and intraoperative complications.1,2 However, because no specific Current Procedural Terminology (CPT® [American Medical Association, Chicago, IL]) codes exist for the performance of these procedures, and due to the significantly varied procedures (eg, completing the procedure only partially or completely laparoscopic or robotic, whether it is for cancer or benign conditions, the type of urinary diversion that is performed, whether a lymph node dissection is performed, if a prostatectomy or hysterectomy is also performed, and so on), choosing the correct CPT code to submit has been a matter of debate. Codes that are often used for cystectomy procedures are listed in Table 1.

[学科分类] 基础医学