Boost your Mastoidectomy Coding

If you have been stumped while coding a tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy, you're not alone. The similar looking codes could baffle anyone in the coding world. The important thing is to memorize which codes represent a wall up and down approach, and identifying an ossicular chain reconstruction (OCR).

Canal wall up with OCR preserves canal, removes Ossicles
The hallmark of a canal wall up mastoidectomy is preserving intact the bony posterior external auditory canal.

Description: The surgeon drills the cortex overlying the mastoid bone, identifies the tegmen, signmoid sinus, and sinodural angle, and then enters Koerner's septum. Once in the antrum, the surgeon exposes the attic and thins down the external auditory canal wall.
There are two methods of canal wall up tympanoplasties depending on whether it covers OCR. In order to find out whether the surgeon carried out OCR, look for mention in the op note about the use of a graft, prosthesia or incus interpositioning.

For more on this and to find out the CPT codes for a wall up approach with OCR, sign up for a one-stop medical coding website. Such a site will help you distinguish wall up, wall down, OCRs to boost mastoidectomy coding apart from providing any information relating to this field. When you sign up for one, such a site will offer you online free CPT code access. You can also have access to a CPT Assistant that will help you in your coding efforts. You can even drop in to chat with coders and billers in each specialty as well as with expert editors and moderators. So sign up

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