ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0MB74ZZ

Excision Hand Bursa and Ligament, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemM Bursae and Ligaments
OperationB Excision
Body Part7 Hand Bursa and Ligament, Right
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Cutting out or off, without replacement, a portion of a body part

Procedure Overview

Excision procedures cut out a portion of a bursa or ligament without replacing it, leaving the remainder of the structure in place. This is done to remove diseased, damaged, or chronically inflamed tissue, such as a thickened bursa that has not responded to drainage or rest, or a partially torn ligament that needs debridement of frayed edges before repair.

A bursectomy, in which part of an inflamed bursa is removed, is a typical example, as is trimming away degenerated portions of a ligament during reconstructive surgery. Because only a portion of the structure is taken, the ligament or bursa continues to exist and function afterward, distinguishing this from a resection that removes the entire body part.

Excision is often performed as a standalone treatment for chronic bursitis or degenerative ligament disease, or as a preparatory step before repair or reconstruction.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Hand Bursa and Ligament, Right

Bursae and ligaments of the right hand include the small synovial cushions near the metacarpophalangeal joints and the collateral ligaments that keep the fingers from deviating sideways during grip. Excision is generally reserved for a ganglion cyst with a ligamentous base, a thickened collateral ligament restricting joint motion after injury, or bursal tissue inflamed from repetitive strain or infection. Because hand ligaments are thin and closely bundled with tendon sheaths and neurovascular structures, documentation should clearly identify the specific joint and side involved, since even a small excision in this region can affect finger stability and grip strength if the wrong structure is assumed.

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.

Coding & Documentation

Coders should confirm the note describes cutting out and removing a specific portion of tissue that is sent to pathology or discarded, as opposed to simply releasing or draining the structure. If the entire bursa or ligament is removed, the correct root operation is Resection rather than Excision, so the extent of removal documented by the surgeon is critical.

A frequent error is coding debridement performed as part of a repair as a separate Excision when it was an integral, inherent part of the definitive procedure and should not be coded separately. Biopsies of ligament or bursa tissue also fall under Excision and require attention to the diagnostic qualifier.

Commonly Confused With

ResectionExcision is most often confused with Resection, distinguished purely by whether all or only part of the ligament or bursa was removed.
ExtirpationIt is also distinguished from Extirpation, which removes abnormal solid material such as a calcified nodule or foreign body rather than a portion of the native structure itself.