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2018 CPC Practice Exam Answer Key 150 Questions With Full Rationale (HCPCS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, CPT Codes) Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

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Large incarcerated right inguinal hernia with scrotal component- NEED HELP, PLEASE :)

Hello, I have never coded an inguinal hernia with scrotal component. Not sure what code to use for scrotal component. I know the inguinal repair is 49507 and the appendectomy will not be coded because there was no need to remove it. Can someone help me with scrotal portion? Thank you in advance!

PROCEDURE: Open repair of incarcerated right inguinal hernia with mesh (3 x 6 inch polypropylene onlay) incidental appendectomy.
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SPECIMENS: 1. Incidental appendectomy 2. Hernia sac
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A right inguinal incision was performed in a standard fashion and carried down to the superior aspect of the scrotum. Subcutaneous tissue was incised through Scarpa’s layer to the external oblique fascia. A large sac was identified communicating with the cantaloupe sized scrotal hernia. The external oblique fascia was incised from the external to the internal ring. Attenuated internal oblique musculature overlying the sac was divided with the electrocautery. The sac was then incised. This allowed for manipulation of the sac contents away from the edges of the sac so that it could be dissected free from the spermatic cord. The spermatic cord structures were identified and protected throughout the case as were the sensory nerves of the inguinal canal. 1/4 inch Penrose drain was placed about the spermatic cord. The enlarged sac was dissected back to the dilated internal ring. At this point the patient was placed in Trendelenburg position and sac contents were reduced. Prior to reduction of the cecum, an elongated normal-appearing appendix was removed by first ligating the mesoappendix and tying off the vessels with interrupted 2-0 silk. The base of this appendix was clamped and the appendix was excised. The base of the appendix was tied off with 0 silk suture and the tip of the base was electrocauterized. Following reduction of the sac contents, it was identified that there was a large internal ring that required support.
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A 3 x 6 inch polypropylene mesh was then placed within the inguinal canal. It was sutured in place with interrupted 2-0 Vicryl, to the Cooper’s ligament medially and along the reflected edge of the inguinal ligament inferiorly. The mesh was split laterally allowing the cord to lie anterior to the mesh. The mesh was sutured superior medially to the conjoined tendon. The tails were brought together laterally, recreating an internal ring. The tails were tucked under the external oblique fascia.
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The dead space within the scrotum was inspected. The edges of the peritoneal sac were cauterized. 1/2 inch Penrose drain was placed in the dead space and brought out through the inferior aspect of the scrotum via a stab incision and sutured in place with 3-0 nylon. The drain was left within the scrotum and the soft tissue surrounding the drain, superiorly was closed off from the inguinal canal using a pursestring suture of 2-0 chromic, to prevent communication of the drain with the mesh. Prior to this, the wound and the scrotum were irrigated thoroughly with warm saline and hemostasis was obtained. The closure was with a running 2-0 Polysorb and the external oblique fascia. Scarpa’s layer was closed with interrupted 2-0 chromic. The skin was closed with staples. A sterile gauze dressing was applied and secured with Medipore tape. The wound was infiltrated with 0.25% Marcaine with epinephrine, 30 mL. A scrotal support was placed with gauze. The patient tolerated the procedure well and was taken to the recovery room stable.
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Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Private practice to large hospital organization

Anyone else out there have the private practice they were working at be bought out by a Hospital? We were bought by Ascension Health Ministries and I have been given the clear impression that this organization has no respect for Medical Coders. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

IDC 10 diagnosis code for large fiber axonal polyneuropathy

Can anyone help me determine the appropriate diagnosis code for large fiber axonal polyneuropathy? I believe the correct code is G62.89 Other specified polyneuropathies (HCC) but I am not 100% certain.
It has been suggested that G62.9 Polyneuropathy, unspecified (HCC), G60.8 Other hereditary and idiopathic neuropathies, or G90.09 Other idiopathic peripheral autonomic neuropathy were appropriate selections.

Thanks so much for your help!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Get Rid of the Medical and Physical Discomfort of Large Breasts

Big breasted women are the envy of women who are not gifted with big bosom. But is it really great to have huge breasts? The upper extremities of women with oversized breasts are not in proportion with their frame and this can result to a number of health problems. The medical and physical discomfort of large breasts can interfere with the daily activities of big breasted women.

The medical and physical discomfort of large breasts can be very disturbing and depressing. Neck, shoulder and back pain are the common problems of big breasted women. Those two huge breasts can put so much stress on your neck, back and spine that can lead to a number of spinal and back problems. The strap of your bra can create painful deep grooves or cuts on your shoulder that can be very uncomfortable.  Another physical discomfort of large breasts is the inability to engage in physical activities like running because it can result to breast pain.

Freedom from physical pain is important to have a happy and healthy life. It can be very difficult to suffer from pain on a daily basis and it can be very frustrating and unhealthy to live a sedentary life. It is important to find a way to get rid of the physical discomfort of large breasts. Is there something you can do about it? The answer is yes there is a way to get rid of the discomfort of large breasts and the solution is breast reduction.

Reducing the size of your breast is the best way to get rid of physical pain of carrying huge breasts. There are two ways to reduce your breast size. One is through breast reduction surgery and another one is through herbal breast reduction treatment.

Choosing a safe and effective method is important. Although surgery is the common solution, it is not for everyone. You have to think many times before subjecting yourself under the knife because any surgery is accompanied by risks. Aside from the high cost of surgery you may also suffer from irreversible side effects.

Fortunately, you have another option which is the herbal breast reduction treatment. Herbal breast reduction pills have been developed under the supervision of nutritionists and medical scientists to help women reduce the size of their breasts and get rid of the physical discomfort of large breasts.

Do you want to wake up one morning with firmer, lighter and smaller breasts without going under the knife? Reduce your breast size naturally, visit Natural Breast Reduction Treatment

To know more about beauty and health remedies visit Health and Beauty Link

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including Get Rid of the Medical and Physical Discomfort of Large Breasts. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

Resection of large intra-abdominal cyst along with left neprectomy

I am having trouble finding the correct cpt codes to use for the following surgery:

Operation: Exploratory laparotomy, resection of large left-sided intra-abdominal cyst along with left nephrectomy, closure of enterotomy.

Description of Operative Procedure:
With the patient on the operation room table in the supine position, a 16 French Foley catheter was place for 200 ml amber urine; then, the abdomen was shaved, prepped and draped in the usual sterile fashion. A xiphoid to pubis mid-line abdominal incision was made and carried through into the peritoneum. Retractors were placed, and the cyst was gradually freed from the surrounding tissue with a combination of blunt and sharp dissection. The gonadal vessels were doubly ligated between 0 silk ties and divided in order to free up the medial aspect of the cyst. The transverse mesocolon was incised with the harmonic scalpel in order to expose the left renal fossa. It became obvious that the cyst was intimately associated with the left kidney, and as the latter appeared to be end-stage, we elected to remove the kidney en block with the specimen. Accordingly, the left renal vein was doubly ligated with 0 silk ties and suture-ligated with a 2-0 silk tie prior to dividing. The left renal artery was double=y tied with 0 sild ties and divided, and then the harmonic scalpel was used to divided the remaining attachments; the specimen was then removed.

A 2 cm tear was noted along the antimesenteric border of the distal transverse colon. A small serosal avulsion was repaired by including this in the enterotomy closure with the TA-55 stapler, and then the enterotomy site was imbricated with interrupted 2-0 silk lambert sutures. The abdomen was closed with interrupted 0 vicryl suture and the skin was loosely closed with the stapler.

Any ideas?

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Professional Medical Equipment For Large Or Small Medical Facilities

Professional medical equipment and instruments are used for many things in the medical field and are used on a regular basis to treat patients. To name a few there are stethoscopes, defibrillators, forceps, clamps, and a host of others that are used to help doctors during surgical procedures.

One of the most common is the use of a stethoscope. This is most commonly used to listen to the heart externally to determine how many beats the heart is taking during the listening process. Many think that this professional medical equipment and instrument is used only for the listening to the heart but there are several other uses. Defibrillators are electronic instruments used for life support. They provide electric shocks that can affect the heart. These devices are commonly misunderstood by the public. Many people believe that defibrillators are used only to restore hearts that have stopped beating. Actually, this equipmentis also used in cases where the heart is beating abnormally also.

Forceps are a medical instrument that looks similar to a pair of household tweezers but on a larger scale. These instruments are used for hold back delicate tissue during surgery or to remove it if need be. Tools like these are necessary in completing many surgical procedures with ease and precision to give the best possible care to your patients. Sterilization of the instruments themselves takes bring the medical instruments to a certain temperature and keeping them there for a set amount of time to kill all the germs.

To use these instruments in such a way will take many years of schooling and to learn how to use them for delicate surgical procedures and to have a steady hand to handle the task. To reduce errors, surgeons routinely mark their patients before surgery with lines which indicate where to cut and which procedure is being performed, and medical instruments are carefully tracked to ensure that nothing is left in the patient.

In medical practices today, there are disposable scalpels or scalpels with disposable blades that are used instead of stainless steel and are extremely important because of the necessity for sterile surgical instruments. A disposable scalpel is generally only used to make a single cut because reusing the scalpel could result in infection or contamination. Using some of the information given here will give you some general knowledge of some of the different medical instruments that are used for delicate surgery today.

For more information on Medical Equipment, please visit our website.

Teladoc Purchases Best Doctors Assuring Large Telemedicine Footprint

Telehealth company Teladoc purchased the giant physician consulting firm Best Doctors for $ 440 million, adding the company’s network of 50,000 specialists to its stable of 3,100 providers. Teladoc already provides 20 million members access to healthcare via the Internet. It also provides services to businesses as part of their benefit packages. Best Doctors provides patients, providers, […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Need CPT for removal of large spur off the inferior pole of the patella

Doc made incision and cut down to the patella. The spur was about 1.5 X 2cm. Right now I’m leaning towards 27350-52 since the spur was so large, but maybe someone has done this before? What do you think?

Medical Billing and Coding | AAPC Forum