ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0FQC4ZZ

Repair Ampulla of Vater to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemF Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas
OperationQ Repair
Body PartC Ampulla of Vater
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Restoring, to the extent possible, a body part to its normal anatomic structure and function

Procedure Overview

Repair procedures in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas address structural damage from trauma, surgical injury, or disease that doesn't require removing or replacing tissue, only restoring it to its normal form. Typical examples include suturing a lacerated liver after blunt abdominal trauma, closing a bile leak discovered after a prior cholecystectomy, or repairing a perforated gallbladder wall. Because Repair is the default root operation whenever no more specific term applies, it also captures a wide range of miscellaneous fixes that don't fit neatly into resection, replacement, or the other defined operations.

These procedures are performed to stop bleeding, prevent bile or pancreatic fluid from leaking into the abdominal cavity, and preserve as much functioning organ tissue as possible. Surgeons may operate emergently, as with a stab wound to the liver, or electively, as with closure of a chronic pancreatic fistula.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Ampulla of Vater

The ampulla of Vater is the short common channel where the pancreatic duct and common bile duct converge before emptying into the duodenum, encircled by the sphincter of Oddi that controls flow of both bile and pancreatic secretions. Its complex, layered anatomy makes it a site prone to strictures, papillary stenosis, and injury during endoscopic retrograde procedures or duodenal surgery. Repair coding applies when this structure's wall or opening is restored to its normal configuration, for instance closing a perforation from instrumentation or repairing a traumatic injury to the papilla, as opposed to procedures that widen, dilate, or excise ampullary tissue. Because the ampulla sits at the junction of two duct systems, documentation should specify that the repair targeted the ampullary structure itself rather than either duct individually.

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

Coders assign a Repair code when the operative note describes suturing, patching without graft material, or otherwise closing a defect without removing or substituting tissue, and no other root operation more precisely describes the objective. The documentation should specify the organ involved and the nature of the defect being closed, since the qualifying body part character depends on exact anatomic location. A frequent error is defaulting to Repair when the physician actually performed a more specific procedure, such as excision of damaged tissue, which should instead be captured separately. Coders should also watch for cases where mesh, patch, or other material is used to reinforce the closure, since that shifts the case toward Supplement rather than Repair.

Commonly Confused With

SupplementRepair is easily confused with Supplement, which applies when biological or synthetic material is added to reinforce a structure rather than simply closing a defect with the body's own tissue.
ReplacementIt's also distinguished from Replacement, used when a device or graft physically takes over the function of the removed body part rather than reinforcing existing tissue, and from Resection, which removes tissue entirely rather than restoring it.