ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0TB14ZX

Excision Kidney, Left to Diagnostic with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemT Urinary System
OperationB Excision
Body Part1 Kidney, Left
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierX Diagnostic

Operation Definition

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

Procedure Overview

Excision in the urinary system involves cutting out a piece of an organ, such as a wedge of kidney tissue for biopsy, a section of bladder wall containing a suspicious lesion, or part of a ureter, while leaving the rest of the structure intact. It is performed to diagnose disease by examining tissue under a microscope, or to remove a localized abnormal area without sacrificing the whole organ.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Kidney, Left

On the left side, partial nephrectomy removes a defined lesion, typically a renal mass suspicious for or confirmed as malignant, while leaving the remainder of the kidney intact to preserve function. The left kidney's proximity to the spleen, splenic vessels, and colon can shape the surgical exposure, particularly in laparoscopic or robotic approaches. As with the right side, the key documentation distinction for coding is that a portion, not the whole organ, was excised, differentiating this from a total nephrectomy. Indications also include excision of a symptomatic or enlarging benign lesion such as an angiomyolipoma when imaging surveillance is no longer sufficient.

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.

Qualifier: Diagnostic

Applied chiefly to Excision, this qualifier marks that tissue was removed specifically for diagnostic purposes, i.e., a biopsy intended for pathologic evaluation rather than to treat disease. It distinguishes biopsy-type excisions from therapeutic excisions of the same body part, which are coded without this qualifier even though the physical technique may be identical.

Coding & Documentation

Assignment depends on identifying the exact body part biopsied or partially removed and the surgical approach (open, percutaneous, or via endoscope). Operative and pathology notes together confirm that only a portion of the structure was taken, since removal of an entire organ is coded as Resection instead. A frequent mistake is defaulting to Excision for any biopsy language without checking whether the documentation actually describes complete organ removal, or failing to code a closed (percutaneous needle) biopsy separately from an open surgical biopsy performed during the same encounter.

Commonly Confused With

ResectionExcision is most often confused with Resection - the dividing line is whether any of the organ remains after the procedure.
ExtirpationIt also differs from Extirpation, which removes abnormal solid matter like a stone or necrotic debris rather than a piece of the organ itself, and from Destruction, which eliminates tissue in place without removing a specimen.