0T784DZ
Dilation Ureters, Bilateral to No Qualifier with Intraluminal Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | T Urinary System |
| Operation | 7 Dilation |
| Body Part | 8 Ureters, Bilateral |
| Approach | 4 Percutaneous Endoscopic |
| Device | D Intraluminal Device |
| Qualifier | Z 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
Ureters, Bilateral
Bilateral ureteral dilation is coded when both ureters are widened in the same operative episode, most often for symmetric strictures caused by retroperitoneal fibrosis, radiation therapy, or extensive pelvic malignancy compressing both tubes. Each ureter is separately catheterized and dilated using balloon or mechanical dilators, generally followed by bilateral stent placement, and the procedure is more involved than a single-side dilation because both renal units are at risk of obstruction if either side fails to open adequately. This bilateral pattern often signals a systemic or centrally located process rather than a focal, one-sided injury, which can inform how the underlying cause is worked up. Documentation should confirm that both ureters were addressed with dilation during the same procedural session to support use of the bilateral body part value rather than reporting two separate unilateral codes.
Approach: Percutaneous Endoscopic
Percutaneous Endoscopic combines a puncture through skin or mucous membrane with insertion of an endoscope to visualize the procedure internally, as in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is distinguished from plain Percutaneous by the presence of scope-guided visualization, and from Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic by its route being a new puncture rather than an existing orifice or stoma.
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.