ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0CHS8YZ

Insertion Larynx to No Qualifier with Other Device, Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemC Mouth and Throat
OperationH Insertion
Body PartS Larynx
Approach8 Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic
DeviceY Other Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Putting in a nonbiological appliance that monitors, assists, performs, or prevents a physiological function but does not physically take the place of a body part

Procedure Overview

Insertion procedures in the mouth and throat place a nonbiological device into a structure to monitor, assist, or support a physiological function without replacing the body part itself. Examples in this region include placing an airway device to keep the pharynx open, positioning a stent within a salivary duct to keep it patent after stone removal or injury, or inserting a feeding or drainage tube through the mouth or throat for temporary support. These devices are meant to aid an existing structure's function rather than take its place, which distinguishes insertion from procedures that reconstruct or replace tissue. The device typically remains in place for a defined period and is later removed once its purpose - such as keeping a duct open during healing or supporting breathing - has been served.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Larynx

The larynx is a cartilaginous framework housing the vocal folds, and insertion procedures here most often involve placing a voice prosthesis, stent, or airway device to maintain patency or restore phonation after trauma, tumor resection, or chronic stenosis. Its complex three-dimensional architecture, with the true and false vocal cords, arytenoids, and subglottic space, means the device must be sized and positioned precisely to avoid impinging on the airway or displacing during swallowing. Laryngeal stents are frequently used following reconstructive surgery for subglottic stenosis to hold the airway lumen open during mucosal healing, while voice prostheses are placed through a tracheoesophageal puncture in laryngectomy patients. Coding should reflect the device category and confirm the procedure targets the laryngeal structure itself rather than an adjacent tracheal or pharyngeal site.

Approach: Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic

Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic describes instrumentation introduced through a natural orifice or a surgically created opening while using an endoscope for visualization, as in a routine colonoscopy performed through the anus. It differs from the plain Via Natural or Artificial Opening value by the added scope, and from Percutaneous Endoscopic by using an existing passage rather than a new skin puncture.

Device: Other Device

Other Device is a catchall value used when a device remains in place but does not fit any of the specifically defined categories, such as tissue substitutes, drainage tubes, radioactive elements, or monitoring sensors. It allows coding of implanted or inserted devices that fall outside those named classifications.

Coding & Documentation

Coders assign Insertion when the documentation describes placing a device such as a stent, tube, or airway appliance into a mouth or throat structure, with the device left in place after the procedure ends. The note should identify the specific device and the target structure, since Insertion is coded to the body part where the device physically sits. A common error is coding placement of a device meant to replace a body part's function, such as a prosthesis, as Insertion when Replacement is the correct root operation instead; the deciding factor is whether the device merely assists or monitors (Insertion) versus physically takes the place of the structure (Replacement). Coders should also avoid conflating temporary intraoperative packing or instruments with a coded insertion, since only devices left in place at the end of the procedure qualify.

Commonly Confused With

ReplacementInsertion is most often confused with Replacement, since both involve placing material into the body, but Replacement substitutes for all or part of a body part while Insertion leaves the native structure intact and simply adds a device to assist it.
DrainageIt can also be confused with Drainage when a tube is placed specifically to remove fluid, in which case the procedure is coded to Drainage with a device value rather than as a standalone Insertion.
ChangeCoders should further distinguish Insertion from Change, which applies only when an existing device is swapped out through the same external opening without a new procedural approach.