| Official Description | Common Description | Procedure Code | Possible Additional Codes | Explanations | Work RVU | Total RVU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repair of dural/cerebrospinal fluid leak or pseudomeningocele, with laminectomy | 63709 | 69990 | Repair of CSF Leak with Laminectomy. Cannot code with laminectomy codes. | 63709 - 15.65 69990 - 3.46 | 63709 - 32.02 69990 - 6.43 | |
| Posterior non-segmental instrumentation (eg, Harrington rod technique, pedicle fixation across 1 interspace, atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation, sublaminar wiring at C1, facet screw fixation) | 22840 | 2 vertebral posterior instrumented fixation; List separately in addition to code for primary procedure; Count vertebrae and not levels. | 22840 - 12.52 | 22840 - 22.26 | ||
| Posterior segmental instrumentation (eg, pedicle fixation, dual rods with multiple hooks and sublaminar wires); 3 to 6 vertebral segments | 22842 | 3 to 6 vertebral posterior instrumented fixation; List separately in addition to code for primary procedure; Count vertebrae and not levels. | 22842 - 12.56 | 22842 - 22.35 | ||
| Posterior segmental instrumentation (eg, pedicle fixation, dual rods with multiple hooks and sublaminar wires); 7 to 12 vertebral segments | 22843 | 7 to 12 vertebral posterior instrumented fixation; List separately in addition to code for primary procedure; Count vertebrae and not levels. | 22843 - 13.44 | 22843 - 23.91 | ||
| Application of intervertebral biomechanical device(s) (eg, synthetic cage(s), methylmethacrylate) to vertebral defect or interspace (list separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | 22851 | This code as of 1/1/17 will no longer be used by Medicare. Some other payers may continue to use this code. Use +22853 (interbody cage), +22854 (corpectomy cage), +22859 (any cage without fusion) instead. | 22851 - deleted code | 22851 - deleted code | ||
| Insertion of interbody biomechanical device(s) (eg, synthetic cage, mesh) with integral anterior instrumentation for device anchoring (eg, screws, flanges), when performed, to intervertebral disc space in conjunction with interbody arthrodesis, each interspace (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | 22853 | Used for a device, with fusion, with or without integrated anterior fixation | 22853 - 4.25 | 22853 - 7.64 | ||
| Insertion of intervertebral biomechanical device(s) (eg, synthetic cage, mesh) with integral anterior instrumentation for device anchoring (eg, screws, flanges), when performed, to vertebral corpectomy(ies) (vertebral body resection, partial or complete) defect, in conjunction with interbody arthrodesis, each contiguous defect (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | 22854 | Used for a device to fill a corpectomy defect, with fusion, with or without integrated anterior fixation | 22854 - 5.5 | 22854 - 9.89 | ||
| Insertion of intervertebral biomechanical device(s) (eg, synthetic cage, mesh, methylmethacrylate) to intervertebral disc space or vertebral body defect without interbody arthrodesis, each contiguous defect (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | 22859 | Used for interbody device insertion without fusion | 22859 - 5.5 | 22859 - 9.89 | ||
| Incision and drainage, open, of deep abscess (subfascial), posterior spine; cervical, thoracic, or cervicothoracic | I&D of deep below fascia infection or abscess, thoracic | 22010 | 22010 - 12.75 | 22010 - 27.56 | ||
| Posterior Thoracic Spine Osteotomy | 22212 +22216 | 22212 can be used for Smith-Petersen or Ponte osteotomy; it is a primary code and -51 modifier should be used as other higher value codes would typically precede this code; +22216 is for additional levels of osteotomies | 22212 - 20.99 +22216 - 6.03 | 22212 - 43.06 +22216 - 10.62 | ||
| Open treatment and/or reduction of vertebral fracture(s) and/or dislocation(s), posterior approach, 1 fractured vertebra or dislocated segment; thoracic | 22327 | 22328 | Open reduction of thoracic spine fracture and/or dislocation posterior approach, 1 level; +22328 - each additional level | 22327 - 20.77 22328 - 4.60 | 22327 - 43.59 22328 - 8.27 | |
| Open treatment and/or reduction of vertebral fracture(s) and/or dislocation(s), posterior approach, 1 fractured vertebra or dislocated segment; each additional fractured vertebrae or dislocated segment (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | +22328 | +22328 - 4.60 | +22328 - 9.20 | |||
| Percutaneous vertebroplasty (bone biopsy included when performed), 1 vertebral body, unilateral or bilateral injection, inclusive of all imaging guidance; cervicothoracic | 22510 | +22512 | +22512 - each additional vertebral body | 22510 - 7.90 +22512 - 4.00 | 22510 - 12.63 +22512 - 6.07 | |
| Percutaneous vertebral augmentation, including cavity creation (fracture reduction and bone biopsy included when performed) using mechanical device (eg, kyphoplasty), 1 vertebral body, unilateral or bilateral cannulation, inclusive of all imaging guidance; thoracic | Kyphoplasty | 22513 | 22515 | +22515 - each additional vertebral body; 10 day global period | 22513 - 8.65 +22515 - 4.00 | 22513 - 15.11 +22515 - 6.54 |
| Arthrodesis, lateral extracavitary technique, including minimal discectomy to prepare interspace (other than for decompression); thoracic | 22532 | 22532 - 25.99 | 22532 - 51.61 | |||
| Arthrodesis, lateral extracavitary technique, including minimal discectomy to prepare interspace (other than for decompression); thoracic or lumbar, each additional vertebral segment (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | 22534 | 22534 - 5.99 | 22534 - 10.54 | |||
| Arthrodesis, posterior or posterolateral technique, single level; thoracic (with lateral transverse technique, when performed) | Posterior fusion | 22610 | +22614 | 22610 is the primary fusion code and refers to one level, e.g. T1/T2 = one level; +22614 is the add on fusion code for each additional level, e.g. T1/T2, T2/T3 = two levels | 22610 - 17.28 +22614 - 6.43 | 22610 - 36.70 +22614 - 11.47 |
| Reinsertion of spinal fixation device | 22849 | Only one code no matter how many levels; Removal and reinsertion of instrumentation, e.g. pedicle screws, plates, etc. e.g. pedicle screw revision. | 22849 - 19.17 | 22849 - 37.75 | ||
| Spinal puncture, therapeutic, for drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (by needle or catheter) | 62272 | Spinal Tap, Lumbar Drain Placement | 62272 - 1.35 | 62272 - 2.43 | ||
| Laminectomy with exploration and/or decompression of spinal cord and/or cauda equina, without facetectomy, foraminotomy or discectomy (e.g., spinal stenosis), 1 or 2 vertebral segments; thoracic | 63003 | 63003 - 17.74 | 63003 - 36.18 | |||
| Laminectomy with exploration and/or decompression of spinal cord and/or cauda equina, without facetectomy, foraminotomy or discectomy (e.g., spinal stenosis), more than 2 vertebral segments; thoracic | 63016 | 63016 - 22.03 | 63016 - 44.52 | |||
| Laminectomy, facetectomy, foraminotomy (unilateral or bilateral with decompression of spinal cord, cauda equina and/or nerve root(s) (e.g., spinal or lateral recess stenosis) single vertebral segment; thoracic | 63046 | +63048 | 63046 - unilateral or bilateral; +63048 - additional level | 63046 - 17.25 +63048 - 3.47 | 63046 - 35.58 +63048 - 6.19 | |
| Transpedicular approach with decompression of spinal cord, equina and/or nerve root(s) (eg, herniated intervertebral disc), single segment; thoracic | 63055 | +63057 | Discectomy in the thoracic spine involving partial or total removal of pedicle. No instrumentation involved.; +63057 - addtitional code | 63055 - 23.55 +63057 - 5.25 | 63055 - 47.59 +63057 - 10.50 | |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, transperitoneal or retroperitoneal approach with decompression of spinal cord, cauda equina or nerve root(s), lower thoracic, lumbar, or sacral; single segment | 63090 | +63091 | +63091 - additional segment | 63090 - 30.93 | 63090 - 56.83 | |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, lateral extracavitary approach with decompression of spinal cord and/or nerve root(s) (e.g., for tumor or retropulsed bone fragments); thoracic, single segment | 63101 | 63101 - 34.10 | 63101 - 67.55 | |||
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, lateral extracavitary approach with decompression of spinal cord and/or nerve root(s) (e.g., for tumor or retropulsed bone fragments); thoracic or lumbar, each additional segment (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | +63103 | +63103 - 4.82 | +63103 - 9.64 | |||
| Laminectomy for excision or evacuation of intraspinal lesion other than neoplasm, extradural; thoracic | Thoracic laminectomies and evacuation of epidural abscess | 63266 (this code will be removed starting in 2020) | 63266 - 24.68 | 63266 - 50.28 | ||
| Laminectomy for excision of intraspinal lesion other than neoplasm, intradural; thoracic | 63271 | +69990 | 63271 - thoracic laminectomy (ies) and evacuation of intradural hematoma; +69990 - use of microscope | 63271 - 29.92 +69990 - 3.46 | 63271 - 60.42 +69990 - 6.43 | |
| Laminectomy for biopsy/excision of intraspinal neoplasm; extradural, thoracic | Thoracic laminectomies and extradural tumor removal, evacuation of epidural hematoma | 63276 | +69990 | +69990 - use of microscope | 63276 - 25.69 +69990 - 3.46 | 63276 - 52.31 +69990 - 6.43 |
| Laminectomy for biopsy/excision of intraspinal neoplasm; intradural, extramedullary, thoracic | 63281 | +69990 | 63281 - thoracic laminectomy (ies) and removal of intradural extramedullary tumor, e.g. meningioma; +69990 - use of microscope | 63281 - 29.99 +69990 - 3.46 | 63281 - 61.34 +69990 - 6.43 | |
| Laminectomy for biopsy/excision of intraspinal neoplasm; intradural, intramedullary, thoracic | 63286 | +69990 | 63286 - thoracic laminectomy (ies) and removal of intradural intramedullary tumor, e.g. glioma or astrocytoma, ependymoma; +69990 - use of microscope | 63286 - 37.62 +69990 - 3.46 | 63286 - 75.22 +69990 - 6.43 | |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, for excision of intraspinal lesion, single segment; extradural, thoracic by transthoracic approach | Thoracic corpectomy through TRANSTHORACIC/THORACOTOMY approach for extradural lesion such as vertebral osteomyelitis or metastatic cancer | 63301 | +63308 | Use this code for any thoracic corpectomy for extradural pathology such as vertebral osteomyelitis, metastatic cancer via thransthoracic/thoracotomy approach; +63308 - for additional level | 63301 - 31.57 63308 - 5.24 | 63301 - 63.14 63308 - 10.48 |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, for excision of intraspinal lesion, single segment; intradural, thoracic by transthoracic approach | Thoracic corpectomy through TRANSTHORACIC/THORACOTOMY approach for intratradural lesion | 63305 | Use this code for any thoracic corpectomy for intradural pathology such as spinal cord glioma via thransthoracic/thoracotomy approach. | 63305 - 36.24 | 63305 - 70.45 | |
| Repair of dural/cerebrospinal fluid leak, not requiring laminectomy | 63707 | +69990 | Repair of CSF Leak without Laminectomy | 63707 - 12.65 +69990 - 3.46 | 63707 - 26.77 +69990 - 6.43 | |
| Removal of anterior instrumentation | Removal of anterior spinal instrumentation | 22855 | 22855 - 15.86 | 22855 - 32.19 | ||
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, for excision of intraspinal lesion, single segment; extradural, thoracic by thoracolumbar approach | Thoracic corpectomy through THORACOLUMBAR approach for extradural lesion | 63302 | Use this code for any thoracic corpectomy for extradural pathology such as vertebral osteomyelitis, metastatic cancer via thoracolumbar approach. This is the code for pathology at T12 | 63302 - 31.15 | 63302 - 63.13 | |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, for excision of intraspinal lesion, single segment; intradural, thoracic by thoracolumbar approach | Thoracic corpectomy through THORACOLUMBAR approach for intradural lesion | 63306 | Use this code for any thoracic corpectomy for intradural pathology such as spinal cord glioma via thoracolumbar approach. This is the code for pathology at T12 | 63306 - 35.55 | 63306 - 60.43 | |
| Removal of posterior segmental instrumentation | Removal of posterior instrumentation | 22852 | Use this code if fixation/instrumentation involves more than 2 vertebras (not levels) irrespective of how many vertebras are spanned. You cannot report this code if exploration of fusion or reinstrumentation was done. | 22852 - 9.37 | 22852 - 20.08 | |
| Removal of posterior nonsegmental instrumentation (eg, Harrington rod) | Removal of posterior instrumentation | 22850 | Use this code if fixation/instrumentation involves only 2 vertebras (not levels) irrespective of how many vertebras are spanned. You cannot report this code if exploration of fusion or reinstrumentation was done. | 22850 - 9.82 | 22850 - 20.98 | |
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, combined thoracolumbar approach with decompression of spinal cord, cauda equina or nerve root(s), lower thoracic or lumbar; single segment | T12 corpectomy | 63087 | +63088 | +63088 - additional level | 63087 - 37.53 +63088 - 4.32 | 63087 - 70.26 +63088 - 7.61 |
| Exploration of spinal fusion | Exploration of spinal fusion | 22830 | 22830 - 11.22 | 22830 - 23.60 | ||
| Vertebral corpectomy (vertebral body resection), partial or complete, transthoracic approach with decompression of spinal cord and/or nerve root(s); thoracic, single segment | 63085 | +63086 | +63086 - each additional segment | 63085 - 29.47 | 63085 - 58.94 | |
| Arthrodesis, anterior interbody technique, including minimal discectomy to prepare interspace (other than for decompression); thoracic | Lateral interbody fusion, e.g. T11-12 interbody fusion through transthoracic approach | 22556 | +22585 | +22585 - each additional segment | 22556 - 24.70 +22585 - 5.52 | 22556 - 49.40 +22585 - 11.04 |
| Laminectomy for excision or occlusion of arteriovenous malformation of spinal cord; thoracic | Laminectomies and intradural ligation of dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) | 63251 | 63251 - 44.64 | 63251 - 89.28 | ||
| Biopsy, bone, open; deep (eg, humeral shaft, ischium, femoral shaft) | 20245 | Excisional biopsy of bone, deep | 20245- 6.00 | 20245- 12.00 | ||
| Biopsy, bone, trocar, or needle; deep (eg, vertebral body, femur) | Biopsy of vertebral body | 20225 | 20225 - 1.87 | 20225 - 3.74 | ||
| Costovertebral approach wuth decompression of spinal cord or nerve root(s) (e.g., herniated intervertebral disc), thoracic; single segment | 63064 | +63066 | +63066 - additional level | 63064 - 26.22 +63066 - 3.26 | 63064 - 52.44 +63066 - 6.52 | |
| Posterior segmental instrumentation (e.g., pedicle fixation, dual rods with multiple hooks and sublaminar wires); 13 or more vertebral segments | 22844 | 22844 - 16.42 | 22844 - 32.84 | |||
| Dural graft, spinal | 63710 | 63710 - 15.40 | 63710 - 30.80 | |||
| Incision and drainage of abscess (eg, carbuncle, suppurative hidradenitis, cutaneous or subcutaneous abscess, cyst, furuncle, or paronychia); simple or single | I&D simple | 10060 | 10060 - 1.22 | 10060 - 2.44 | ||
| Incision and drainage of hematoma, seroma or fluid collection | I&D of hematoma, seroma or fluid collection | 10140 | 10140 - 1.58 | 10140 - 3.16 | ||
| Incision and drainage, complex, postoperative wound infection | I&D complex | 10180 | 10180 - 2.30 | 10180 - 4.60 | ||
| Treatment of superficial wound dehiscence; simple closure | Treatment of superficial would dehiscence simple | 12020 | 12020 - 2.67 | 12020 - 5.34 | ||
| Treatment of superficial wound dehiscence; with packing | 12021 | 12021 - 1.89 | 12021 - 3.78 | |||
| Repair, complex, scalp, arms, and/or legs; 1.1 cm to 2.5 cm | Complex repair,scalp codes | 13120 | 13120 - 3.23 | 13120 - 6.46 | ||
| Repair, complex, scalp, arms, and/or legs; 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm | Complex repair,scalp codes | 13121 | 13121 - 4.00 | 13121 - 8.00 | ||
| Repair, complex, scalp, arms, and/or legs; each additional 5 cm or less (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | Complex repair,scalp codes | 13122 | 13122 - 1.44 | 13122 - 2.88 | ||
| Removal of bone flap or prosthetic plate of skull | 62142 | 62142 - 11.83 | 62142 - 23.66 | |||
| Replacement of bone flap or prosthetic plate of skull | 62143 | 62143 - 14.15 | 62143 - 28.30 | |||
| Removal of implant; deep (eg, buried wire, pin, screw, metal band, nail, rod or plate) | 20680 | Global period is 90 days | 20680 - 5.96 | 20680 - 11.92 | ||
| Unlisted code | 28999 | 28999 - 0.00 | 28999 - 0.00 | |||
| Structural allograft | Structural cadaveric bone graft | 20931 | 20931 - 1.81 | 20931 - 3.62 | ||
| Biopsy, vertebral body, open, thoracic | 20250 | 20250 - 5.19 | 20250 - 10.38 |