03750FZ
Dilation Axillary Artery, Right to No Qualifier with Intraluminal Device, Three, Open Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | 3 Upper Arteries |
| Operation | 7 Dilation |
| Body Part | 5 Axillary Artery, Right |
| Approach | 0 Open |
| Device | F Intraluminal Device, Three |
| Qualifier | Z No Qualifier |
Operation Definition
Expanding an orifice or the lumen of a tubular body part
Procedure Overview
Dilation procedures widen a narrowed or blocked segment of an upper artery, most often through balloon angioplasty with or without stent placement, to restore adequate blood flow to the brain, neck, or arm. Arteries like the carotid, subclavian, and brachial commonly develop narrowing from atherosclerotic plaque, and dilation is one of the least invasive ways to correct it.
A catheter carrying a balloon, and often a stent, is threaded to the narrowed site under imaging guidance; the balloon is inflated to compress the plaque against the vessel wall, and a stent may be left in place to hold the artery open afterward. This is typically attempted before a bypass is considered, since it avoids open surgery and graft material.
Patients undergo this procedure to reduce stroke risk, relieve arm claudication or ischemia, and avoid a more invasive vascular reconstruction, with the artery's own wall preserved rather than replaced or rerouted.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Axillary Artery, Right
The axillary artery continues from the subclavian artery as it passes through the armpit region toward the upper arm, and it is a common site for stenosis related to thoracic outlet compression, prior trauma, or atherosclerosis, as well as a landmark vessel for arterial access in certain cardiac procedures. Dilation restores luminal diameter in a segment that supplies the shoulder muscles and, further downstream, the entire arm, making symptomatic narrowing here a cause of arm claudication or diminished pulses. Because the vessel runs close to the brachial plexus, catheter-based dilation is generally preferred over open repair when feasible, and operators note the specific right or left designation along with any relationship to thoracic outlet syndrome in the documentation.
Approach: Open
Open approach means the surgeon cuts through skin, mucous membrane, or other tissue layers to physically expose the target site to view before performing the procedure. It gives direct visualization and hands-on access, distinguishing it from Percutaneous approaches where instruments pass through a small puncture without exposing the site. Open is typical for procedures needing wide access, such as most laparotomies.
Device: Intraluminal Device, Three
Intraluminal Device, Three denotes the placement of exactly three non-drug-eluting intraluminal devices, such as stents, within a single body part in the same procedure. It reflects device quantity rather than device type, falling between the Two and Four or More values on this axis, and excludes drug-eluting devices, which are coded separately.
Coding & Documentation
Coding a Dilation requires documentation of the artery treated and whether a stent was deployed, since the device value changes between no device, a drug-eluting stent, a non-drug-eluting stent, or an intraluminal device without drug coating. The approach, percutaneous versus open, also affects code selection. A frequent error is failing to capture a stent placed during the same session as a separate consideration, when in fact PCS bundles the stent into the Dilation code's device character rather than coding it separately; another is confusing pre-dilation performed to facilitate stent placement, which is not coded independently, with a therapeutic dilation of a different vessel.