ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0UC03ZZ

Extirpation Ovary, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemU Female Reproductive System
OperationC Extirpation
Body Part0 Ovary, Right
Approach3 Percutaneous
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Taking or cutting out solid matter from a body part

Procedure Overview

Extirpation covers taking or cutting solid matter out of the female reproductive tract that does not belong there - this includes removing blood clots, retained products of conception, calcified tissue, or foreign objects, as opposed to removing a piece of an organ itself. A common example is evacuation of retained placental tissue after delivery or miscarriage, or removal of a calcified fibroid fragment that has become dislodged.

This root operation is used when the material being removed is abnormal or misplaced rather than a normal anatomical structure, and the goal is simply to clear it out rather than to treat the organ housing it. Clinically, patients undergo these procedures for incomplete miscarriage, postpartum hemorrhage from retained tissue, or infections associated with foreign material like a lost IUD fragment.

Because the matter being removed is not itself living tissue that is part of the organ, extirpation is conceptually distinct from cutting into an organ to take a sample of that organ's own structure.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Ovary, Right

The right ovary produces oocytes and sex hormones and lies within the pelvis attached to the uterus by the ovarian ligament and to the pelvic sidewall by the infundibulopelvic ligament. Extirpation of this body part refers to removal of abnormal material from within or on the ovary, such as a hemorrhagic clot, necrotic debris, or foreign material, while leaving the ovarian tissue itself in place, which distinguishes it from resection or excision of the organ. This approach is used when the underlying ovarian structure is not itself being removed but a discrete abnormal substance, such as a ruptured cyst's contents or torsed and infarcted debris, needs evacuation to preserve remaining function. Laparoscopic access is common, and documentation should clarify that ovarian parenchyma was retained.

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

Coding support requires documentation that identifies the material removed as solid matter - clot, retained products of conception, calculus, or foreign body - rather than as a specimen of the organ's own tissue. Operative notes describing dilation and curettage for retained products, or laparoscopic removal of a dislodged device, typically support this code. The body part value should reflect the anatomical site where the extraction occurred, such as the uterus for a D&C performed for retained products.

The recurring mistake is coding a D&C as Extraction when the documentation actually describes cutting or curetting out solid matter, since D&C procedures for retained products of conception are classified as Extirpation rather than Extraction, which is reserved for pulling or stripping tissue out by force. Coders also occasionally miss that a D&C performed to obtain an endometrial sample for diagnosis is coded differently, since that involves a different intent and root operation.

Commonly Confused With

ExtractionExtraction is the term coders confuse this with most, since both are performed via similar instrumentation, but Extraction involves pulling or stripping tissue out using force - such as curettage of the endometrial lining for diagnostic purposes - while Extirpation removes solid matter that is not normal tissue, like a clot.
FragmentationFragmentation is related when solid matter is broken up rather than removed whole; if a calcified mass is broken into pieces and left in place or passed naturally rather than being taken out, Fragmentation applies instead.
ExcisionExcision is distinguished because it removes a portion of the body part's own structure, not abnormal material lodged within it.