02LR0CZ
Occlusion Pulmonary Artery, Left to No Qualifier with Extraluminal Device, Open Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | 2 Heart and Great Vessels |
| Operation | L Occlusion |
| Body Part | R Pulmonary Artery, Left |
| Approach | 0 Open |
| Device | C Extraluminal Device |
| Qualifier | Z No Qualifier |
Operation Definition
Completely closing an orifice or the lumen of a tubular body part
Procedure Overview
Occlusion procedures on the heart and great vessels close off a vessel, chamber opening, or shunt so that blood can no longer pass through it. Surgeons use this approach to seal off a structure that is causing harm rather than to serve a useful purpose, such as an aneurysm, a patent foramen ovale, an atrial appendage prone to clot formation, or an abnormal connection between chambers. The closure can be done with a clip, plug, coil, suture, or occluder device delivered either through open surgery or a catheter threaded from a vessel in the leg or arm.
Patients encounter this family of procedures most often for stroke-prevention strategies, such as left atrial appendage closure in people with atrial fibrillation who cannot tolerate long-term blood thinners, or for closing a hole between heart chambers that never sealed after birth. The goal is always the same: eliminate flow through a specific pathway while leaving the surrounding anatomy otherwise intact.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Pulmonary Artery, Left
The left pulmonary artery delivers deoxygenated blood from the pulmonary trunk to the left lung, and its complete occlusion is generally undertaken in the setting of staged congenital cardiac palliation, traumatic vascular injury, or to exclude a nonfunctional lung from the pulmonary circulation, using surgical ligation, banding, or catheter-based plugging devices. As with its right-sided counterpart, the left pulmonary artery is a distinct paired structure, so occlusion here carries its own body part value separate from the right pulmonary artery or the pulmonary trunk. Anatomic proximity to the left main bronchus and the ligamentum arteriosum means surgeons must document the precise location of closure relative to these structures, particularly when occlusion is part of a broader repair of associated congenital anomalies.
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.
Device: Extraluminal Device
Extraluminal Device describes a device positioned on the outside surface of a tubular or hollow body part rather than within its lumen, such as a vascular banding or external stabilization device. It is the structural counterpart to Intraluminal Device, distinguished by its external placement relative to the vessel or duct wall rather than sitting inside the passageway itself.
Coding & Documentation
Coders assign Occlusion when the operative note describes a structure being completely closed off, not narrowed or partially blocked, which would instead point to Restriction. The documentation needs to specify the device used (occluder, clip, coil) and the approach, since percutaneous catheter-based closures carry a different device and approach value than an open surgical ligation of a vessel. A frequent error is confusing Occlusion with Excision or Destruction when a structure like an atrial appendage is removed or ablated rather than sealed shut - if tissue is taken out, Excision applies instead. Another common mix-up is failing to distinguish a diagnostic occlusion test from a therapeutic one; only the therapeutic closure is coded here.