You Be the Coder: Cataract Removal With Pupil Stretching

Question: Our ophthalmologist wants me to submit a claim for 66982, along with stretching of pupil with iris hooks and staining of anterior capsule with vision blue dye. Are there separate codes for those services? Are they bundled?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: You can't claim them separately, but the use of iris hooks and blue dye in the anterior chamber will help back up your use of 66982 (Extracapsular cataract removal ... complex ...).

Key: According to CPT®, "devices or techniques not generally used in routine cataract surgery" distinguish complex cataract surgery from the other codes. The "iris expansion device" (e.g., iris hooks) is [...]

- Published on 2011-11-08