ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0MD90ZZ

Extraction Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Open Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemM Bursae and Ligaments
OperationD Extraction
Body Part9 Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Right
Approach0 Open
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ 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 procedures pull or strip out all or part of a bursa or ligament using force, rather than by cutting. This root operation is used less often for bursae and ligaments than for structures like veins, but it applies when tissue is physically stripped away, for example when a scarred or adhered portion of a ligament is forcibly separated from surrounding structures during surgical mobilization.

Because the defining feature is force rather than sharp dissection, these procedures are typically reserved for situations where a structure is being avulsed or stripped rather than incised, such as forcibly detaching adherent tissue during a difficult revision procedure.

Extraction is chosen based on the surgical technique actually used, not the underlying condition, so the same clinical problem might be addressed with excision in one case and extraction in another depending on how the surgeon physically removed the tissue.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Right

On the right upper extremity, this qualifier applies to bursae and ligaments outside the more specific hand, wrist, or shoulder groupings, generally the ligamentous and bursal tissue around the elbow and forearm. Extraction is used when material such as a loose body, calcified deposit, or cyst contents is physically removed from within one of these structures by pulling or cutting, without taking out the ligament or bursa proper. The olecranon bursa is a frequent target given its susceptibility to inflammatory or traumatic effusion and occasional gouty or infectious debris. Coders should confirm that the operative site does not fall under a more specific ICD-10-PCS body part value elsewhere in the table before defaulting to this general right upper extremity designation, since the classification favors the most precise applicable structure.

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 look specifically for language describing pulling, stripping, or avulsing tissue by force, as opposed to cutting it with an instrument. This distinction can be subtle in operative notes, so close reading of the technique description is essential rather than assuming based on the diagnosis alone.

A common error is defaulting to Excision for any tissue removal without verifying whether the surgeon actually used a cutting instrument or physically stripped the tissue free, since these map to different root operations. Extraction is also uncommon enough in this body system that coders should double check the guidance and any coding clinic advice before assigning it.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionExtraction is most easily confused with Excision, and the distinguishing factor is purely the mechanism, force versus cutting, described in the operative note.
ReleaseIt can also be confused with Release when adhesions are being freed, though Release targets constraining scar tissue around the structure rather than the ligament or bursa itself being pulled away.