ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0QC44ZZ

Extirpation Acetabulum, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemQ Lower Bones
OperationC Extirpation
Body Part4 Acetabulum, Right
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Taking or cutting out solid matter from a body part

Procedure Overview

Extirpation of the lower bones is the removal of solid material that doesn't belong there - a loose bone fragment, a piece of dead bone (sequestrum) left behind by infection, or debris lodged in the bone following trauma. Unlike cutting away living bone tissue, this procedure clears out material that is already separated or non-viable, which is why it's often paired with treating osteomyelitis or cleaning up after a fracture.

Patients typically undergo this when imaging or prior surgery has identified fragments that are causing pain, blocking healing, or perpetuating an infection. Removing the material can relieve symptoms and allow the surrounding bone to heal normally.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Acetabulum, Right

The right acetabulum is the cup-shaped socket formed at the junction of the ilium, ischium, and pubis that articulates with the femoral head to form the hip joint, and it must maintain precise contour and depth for normal joint mechanics. Extirpation from the acetabulum removes solid abnormal material such as loose osteochondral fragments, a sequestrum from periprosthetic joint infection, or cement or debris left within the socket after a failed prior hip procedure, without resecting the acetabular bone itself. Because the acetabulum's articular surface must remain congruent for the hip to function, care is taken to avoid disturbing healthy subchondral bone during removal, and this procedure is often performed in the context of revision hip surgery or treatment of a periprosthetic infection.

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

Look for documentation describing removal of a sequestrum, loose body, necrotic bone fragment, or foreign material from within a lower bone. Sequestrectomy for chronic osteomyelitis is a classic example. The material removed should be distinguishable from the bone itself - it's being taken out of the bone, not cut from it. A frequent coding mistake is defaulting to excision whenever a bone procedure is described, without checking whether the surgeon was actually removing a discrete, already-separated fragment versus cutting living bone; the two require different root operations even when performed through the same incision.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionThe key distinction from Excision is that extirpation removes matter that is not a normal part of the body part - dead or foreign material - while excision cuts a portion of a body part that is still living tissue.
ExtractionExtirpation is also distinct from Extraction, which pulls material out using force rather than simply lifting or removing loose fragments, and from Removal (a different root operation used for devices, not native tissue).