ZHealth Coding Newsletter - November 2013

Q & A with Dr. David Zielske

Question: Stenosis vs Clotted AV Fistula

Coding guidelines state that when an intervention is performed on an AV Fistula, the arterial and venous sides are considered one vessel. It's understandable when a stenosis exists and requires just one wire to be placed, but I was wondering if there was an exception when a clot is encountered since 2 wires are placed and 2 sides are ballooned/stented?