A 48 year-old-man suffered internal injuries as well as multiple lower body fractures in a multiple-car accident, and presented in an extremely emergent situation. The patient's liver sustained damage and was hemorrhaging. Surgery began immediately, as the patient was not expected to survive without immediate surgery. During the surgery, the orthopedic surgeon manipulated the patient's tibia fracture and set the bone with a percutaneous fixation. Code for the anesthesia services only.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct code is 00792, (Anesthesia for intra-peritoneal procedures in upper abdomen including laparoscopy; partial hepatectomy or management of liver hemorrhage) and the correct physical status modifier is -P5, which indicates that the patient is in a moribund state and not expected to live without the procedure. The tibia manipulation and percutaneous fixation should not be reported separately because it is considered a minor anesthetic procedure in comparison to the management of the liver hemorrhage.

A 48 Year-Old-Man Suffered Internal Injuries as Well as Multiple