0QDB0ZZ
Extraction Lower Femur, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Open Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | Q Lower Bones |
| Operation | D Extraction |
| Body Part | B Lower Femur, Right |
| Approach | 0 Open |
| Device | Z No Device |
| Qualifier | Z No Qualifier |
Operation Definition
Pulling or stripping out or off all or a portion of a body part by the use of force
Procedure Overview
Extraction in the lower bones describes pulling or stripping out bone material using force, rather than cutting it free. This root operation is less common for bone than for other tissues, but it applies when a fragment or structure is physically pulled away rather than dissected out - for example, forcibly removing a broken segment during hardware revision or manually stripping periosteal tissue attached to bone.
These procedures are usually part of a larger reconstructive or trauma-related case, addressing damage that has already occurred rather than treating disease directly.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Lower Femur, Right
The lower right femur comprises the distal femoral metaphysis and the medial and lateral condyles that form the upper half of the knee joint, an area rich in cancellous bone and closely associated with the articular cartilage, cruciate ligaments, and popliteal vessels. Extraction of tissue from this region is typically diagnostic, such as core needle sampling of a distal femoral lesion to evaluate for tumor, or removal of a loose osteochondral fragment, performed by pulling material free rather than excising a defined segment. Because this area directly borders the knee joint space, procedures require care to avoid violating the articular surface or synovium. The right lower femur is coded distinctly from the left given its separate laterality.
Approach: Open
Open approach means the surgeon cuts through skin, mucous membrane, or other tissue layers to physically expose the target site to view before performing the procedure. It gives direct visualization and hands-on access, distinguishing it from Percutaneous approaches where instruments pass through a small puncture without exposing the site. Open is typical for procedures needing wide access, such as most laparotomies.
Coding & Documentation
Coders should assign extraction only when the documentation explicitly describes forceful pulling or stripping, not routine cutting. This distinction matters because the same-looking removal of a bone piece can be excision, extirpation, or extraction depending on the technique the surgeon actually used, and operative notes don't always use precise root-operation language. When the method is ambiguous, query the physician rather than defaulting to the more familiar excision code - this is the most common error in this family, since extraction cases in bone are relatively rare and easy to miscode as something more routine.