Who is a candidate for knee replacement? According to Dr. “That includes both partial and total replacements.” “I do close to 300 knee replacements each year,” says Dr. DeMaagd, MD, specialist with the Total Joint Center at Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan, sees his fair share. 2%? Each year, thousands of people in the United States have knee replacement surgery - about 600,000 to be exact, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. An arthroscopic debridement of articular cartilage was done in both the medial and lateral compartment of the left knee.Are you part of the. He was diagnosed with left knee primary osteoarthritis. His conservative management failed, so he decided to go with surgical options. An arthroscopic debridement of the left knee synovitis was done in the medial and lateral compartments.Ī 55-year-old male presents with chronic left knee pain. She was diagnosed with left knee synovitis. An arthroscopic debridement of the right knee synovitis was done in the medial compartment of the knee.Ī 62-year-old female presents with left knee pain and swelling. He was diagnosed with right knee synovitis. Surgical debridement of the synovial tissue is a synovectomy.Ī 65-year-old male presents with right knee pain.
COMPARTMENTS OF THE KNEE CODE
CPT code 29876 may be reported for a medically reasonable and necessary synovectomy with another arthroscopic knee procedure on the ipsilateral knee if the synovectomy is performed in 2 compartments on which another arthroscopic procedure is not performed.įor example, CPT code 29876 shall not be reported for a major synovectomy with CPT code 29880 (Knee arthroscopy, medial AND lateral meniscectomy) on the ipsilateral knee, since knee arthroscopic procedures other than synovectomy are performed in 2 of the 3 knee compartments.ĭebridement of Articular Cartilage vs SynoviumĪrthroscopic debridement of articular cartilage should be reported with CPT code 29877, whereas debridement of synovium should be reported with CPT code 29875 or 29876.
CPT code 29875 should not be reported with another arthroscopic knee procedure on the ipsilateral knee. Below are the CPT code descriptions for arthroscopic synovectomy procedures.Ĭpt code 29875: Arthroscopy, knee, surgical synovectomy, limited (eg, plica or shelf resection) (separate procedure)Ĭpt code 29876: Arthroscopy, knee, surgical synovectomy, major, 2 or more compartments (eg, medial or lateral)Ī synovectomy to “clean up” a joint on which another more extensive procedure is performed is not separately reportable. The synovial membrane produces synovial fluid which lubricates the joint to reduce friction on the articular cartilage during motion.Īrthroscopic synovectomy of the knee may be reported with CPT codes 29875 (Limited synovectomy, “separate procedure”) or 29876 (Major synovectomy of two or three compartments). Synovium (Synovial membrane) is the delicate, thin membrane that encapsulates the knee joint. In the knee, articular cartilage covers the lower end of the femur, the upper end of the tibia, and the undersurface of the patella. An intermediate patellofemoral joint is between the patella and the patellar surface of the femur (Patellofemoral Compartment)Īrticular cartilage is the soft, elastic cartilage that covers the ends of bones within the joint.Medially is a second tibiofemoral joint, between the medial condyle of the femur, medial meniscus, and medial condyle of the tibia (Medial Compartment).Laterally is a tibiofemoral joint, between the lateral condyle of the femur, lateral meniscus, and lateral condyle of the tibia, which is weight-bearing (Lateral Compartment).It is a modified hinge joint that consists of three joints within a single synovial cavity: The knee joint is the largest and most complex joint of the body.
Orthopedic coding knee procedures requires knowledge of knee anatomy.
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