A 9-month-old baby has an incarcerated right inguinal hernia with hydrocele that needs to be repaired. What CPT code should be used for this procedure?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

49501 is the correct code for an incarcerated inguinal hernia for ages six months to younger than five years of age.
Codes 49492, 49496 and 49507 are all the codes for incarcerated inguinal hernia repair. However, these codes are different due to the ages of the patients the procedures are performed on. Code 49492 is for preterm infants (younger than 37 weeks at birth) performed from birth up to 50 weeks postconception age. Code 49496 is the code for full-term infants younger than six months or preterm infants older than 50 weeks postconception age and younger than six months. Code 49507 is the code for ages five years of age or older.

A 9-Month-Old Baby Has an Incarcerated Right Inguinal Hernia with Hydrocele