ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0QC83ZZ

Extirpation Femoral Shaft, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemQ Lower Bones
OperationC Extirpation
Body Part8 Femoral Shaft, Right
Approach3 Percutaneous
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

Femoral Shaft, Right

The right femoral shaft is the long, cylindrical diaphysis between the proximal and distal femur, the primary load-bearing segment of the thigh bone and a common site of traumatic fracture given its central role in weight transmission. Extirpation from the femoral shaft removes solid abnormal material such as a sequestrum from chronic diaphyseal osteomyelitis, retained bone cement or fragments after hardware removal, or necrotic debris from an infected nonunion, without cutting away any of the femur's own bone tissue. Because the shaft is enveloped by large muscle groups and the femoral vessels run in close proximity along its course, exposure for this procedure typically follows a lateral surgical approach, and the level of the shaft involved should be documented.

Approach: Percutaneous

Percutaneous describes entry by needle or instrument puncture through the skin or mucous membrane to reach the site of the procedure, without cutting the tissue open or using a visualizing scope. It differs from Open in that the site itself is never exposed, and from Percutaneous Endoscopic in that no endoscope is used to see internal structures. Common examples include needle biopsies and injections.

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).