ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0T738DZ

Dilation Kidney Pelvis, Right to No Qualifier with Intraluminal Device, Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemT Urinary System
Operation7 Dilation
Body Part3 Kidney Pelvis, Right
Approach8 Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic
DeviceD Intraluminal Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Expanding an orifice or the lumen of a tubular body part

Procedure Overview

Dilation procedures widen a narrowed segment of the urinary tract, most often the ureter, urethra, or bladder neck, to restore normal urine flow through the existing channel. Balloon dilation of a ureteral stricture or urethral dilation for a post-surgical narrowing are typical examples, frequently performed under cystoscopic or fluoroscopic guidance.

Strictures develop from prior surgery, radiation, chronic catheterization, trauma, or scarring, and if left untreated can cause pain, recurrent infection, or kidney injury from obstructed drainage. Dilation offers a less invasive alternative to reconstructive surgery, though some strictures recur and require repeat treatment or an eventual bypass or repair.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Kidney Pelvis, Right

The right kidney pelvis is the funnel-shaped collecting structure where renal calyces converge before urine passes into the ureter, and it can narrow due to ureteropelvic junction obstruction, stricture, or stone-related scarring. Dilation here widens this outflow tract using a balloon catheter or graduated dilators advanced percutaneously or retrograde through a ureteroscope, restoring drainage without cutting or removing tissue. Because the right kidney sits lower than the left and is bordered by the liver and duodenum, percutaneous access routes are planned carefully to avoid these structures while reaching the pelvis. This procedure is frequently paired with stent placement to maintain patency after the dilation, and documentation should reflect the specific narrowed segment addressed and the device used, since the definitive treatment for the stricture may occur separately.

Approach: Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic

Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic describes instrumentation introduced through a natural orifice or a surgically created opening while using an endoscope for visualization, as in a routine colonoscopy performed through the anus. It differs from the plain Via Natural or Artificial Opening value by the added scope, and from Percutaneous Endoscopic by using an existing passage rather than a new skin puncture.

Device: Intraluminal Device

Intraluminal Device denotes a single device, such as a stent or occlusion device, positioned within the lumen of a tubular body part like a vessel, duct, or airway to maintain patency or occlude flow. It carries no drug coating or radioactivity, distinguishing it from the drug-eluting, radioactive, and bioactive intraluminal device values, and from Extraluminal Device, which sits outside rather than inside the lumen.

Coding & Documentation

Coding depends on confirming that the procedure expanded an existing orifice or lumen without creating a new passage or removing tissue; the device value also matters, since a stent or balloon left temporarily in place changes the code. Documentation should specify the exact site dilated, as ureteral, urethral, and bladder-neck dilations use different body part values. A common mistake is coding Dilation when a stricture was actually incised (Division) or excised, rather than mechanically stretched, or overlooking that an intraluminal device was left behind.

Commonly Confused With

BypassDilation is commonly confused with Bypass, since both address obstruction, but Dilation restores the original channel rather than creating a new route.
DivisionIt is also distinct from Division, which involves cutting through a restricting band rather than stretching the passage open.