ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0MQB4ZZ

Repair Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Left to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemM Bursae and Ligaments
OperationQ Repair
Body PartB Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Left
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

This family covers surgical repair of a bursa or ligament when it is torn, lacerated, or otherwise damaged but not being replaced with graft material or reinforced with supplemental tissue. Ligaments connect bone to bone and stabilize joints such as the knee, ankle, shoulder, and wrist, while bursae are small fluid-filled sacs that cushion friction points between tendons, bone, and skin. Damage to either structure typically comes from a sudden twisting injury, a fall, overuse, or a laceration, and can leave a joint feeling unstable, painful, or prone to giving way.

The surgeon's goal is to bring the torn edges of the ligament back together, or close and stabilize a ruptured or infected bursa, restoring the structure as close to its original anatomy as the tissue allows. This might mean suturing a partial ligament tear, draining and closing an infected olecranon or prepatellar bursa, or repairing a bursal rupture found during an open procedure. Recovery generally involves bracing or immobilization followed by physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion, and outcomes depend heavily on how completely the native tissue can be restored.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Left

On the left side, this body part groups bursae and ligaments of the arm and forearm - including the olecranon bursa and the elbow's collateral ligaments - that resist valgus and varus stress during everyday lifting and throwing motions. Repair is indicated when a fall, direct blow, or repetitive overhead activity tears or stretches these structures, or when chronic bursitis leaves a bursa thickened and painful, and the surgeon restores normal anatomy with sutures or direct tissue apposition rather than substituting graft material. Because the left upper extremity encompasses several distinct ligamentous sites, the operative documentation should pinpoint the exact structure repaired, and any procedure extending into the hand or shoulder proper is coded separately from this value.

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

A coder should look for operative language describing suturing, closure, or reattachment of a bursa or ligament without the use of graft or synthetic material - words like "repaired," "sutured," or "reattached primarily" point here rather than to Replacement or Supplement. The documentation needs to specify which named bursa or ligament was involved and confirm no device or biologic material was left in place to reinforce the structure. A frequent error is coding Repair when the operative note actually describes a mesh or allograft reinforcing the ligament, which belongs under Supplement instead. Another common miss is failing to distinguish a simple bursa drainage (Drainage root operation) from an actual repair of the bursal wall itself.

Commonly Confused With

SupplementSupplement is the closest neighbor and the most frequently confused pairing: if the surgeon adds graft, mesh, or other material to reinforce a ligament that is still substantially intact, that's Supplement, not Repair.
RepositionReposition applies when a ligament or bursa is surgically moved to a new anatomic location, such as relocating a displaced bursa, rather than being fixed in place.
ResectionResection is reserved for cases where the bursa or ligament is cut out entirely with no attempt to restore it, as with excision of a chronically inflamed bursa that will not be reconstructed.