ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0MCF4ZZ

Extirpation Sternum Bursa and Ligament to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemM Bursae and Ligaments
OperationC Extirpation
Body PartF Sternum Bursa and Ligament
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Taking or cutting out solid matter from a body part

Procedure Overview

Extirpation procedures take or cut out solid matter that does not belong in a bursa or ligament, such as calcified deposits, loose bodies, blood clots, or foreign material. Unlike excision, the material removed is abnormal rather than being a piece of the ligament or bursa itself. A common scenario is removal of calcific deposits from a chronically inflamed bursa, sometimes called calcific bursitis, or clearing a hematoma that has formed within a ligament sheath after injury.

These procedures are often performed when conservative treatment or drainage alone has failed to resolve symptoms caused by the trapped material. The approach may be open, arthroscopic, or through a small percutaneous access depending on the size and location of the deposit.

By removing the obstructing or irritating material, extirpation aims to relieve pain and restore normal movement without removing any of the surrounding healthy ligament or bursa tissue.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Sternum Bursa and Ligament

The sternum bursa and ligament structures include the small bursal sacs overlying the sternum and the ligaments anchoring the sternoclavicular and sternocostal joints, which stabilize the anterior chest wall during breathing and shoulder movement. Extirpation is used when solid abnormal material, such as a calcified deposit or an infected fibrinous collection, accumulates in one of these structures and must be removed without excising the bursa or ligament. This area is uncommonly operated on compared to limb bursae, so findings here are often tied to inflammatory conditions like costochondritis-adjacent pathology or post-sternotomy complications. The proximity of the sternum to the mediastinum and great vessels means the surgeon must confirm the material lies within the ligamentous or bursal tissue itself before proceeding with removal.

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

The documentation should identify the removed material as abnormal solid matter, such as calcium deposits, debris, or a clot, rather than native tissue. Coders should look for terms like removal, debris clearance, or evacuation of calcification rather than excision or resection language.

A common mistake is defaulting to Excision whenever tissue is cut, without checking whether what was actually removed was foreign or abnormal material versus a piece of the ligament or bursa itself. When both native tissue and abnormal material are removed in the same operative episode, coders must determine whether one procedure was incidental to the other or whether both should be captured.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionExtirpation is commonly confused with Excision, with the deciding factor being whether the removed material is normal anatomic tissue or abnormal matter that does not belong there.
DrainageIt also differs from Drainage, which removes fluid or gas rather than solid material, though both procedures can be performed on the same inflamed bursa during a single encounter.