Patient is ordered to return to the operating room to treat an infection of the surgical wound from a surgery she had on the abdomen three days ago. The coder will assign modifier _____ to the procedure code describing the cleaning and debridement of the infected wound.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Modifier 78 is used for a return to the operating room for a related procedure during the postoperative period, which applies to the scenario of treating an infection of a surgical wound.

Patient Is Ordered to Return to the Operating Room to Treat