ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0MQ93ZZ

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

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemM Bursae and Ligaments
OperationQ Repair
Body Part9 Upper Extremity Bursa and Ligament, Right
Approach3 Percutaneous
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, Right

This body part covers bursae and ligaments of the right upper extremity outside the hand and shoulder-specific codes, encompassing structures around the elbow and forearm such as the olecranon bursa and collateral ligaments that stabilize flexion, extension, and rotational movement of the arm. These structures are vulnerable to direct trauma, repetitive strain, and inflammatory bursitis, and repair is undertaken to restore joint stability or relieve a symptomatic, thickened bursa without removing or replacing tissue. Coders should confirm the specific site documented in the operative note, since the upper extremity spans multiple anatomically distinct ligamentous complexes bundled under this single body part value, and laterality to the right side must be clearly supported by the record.

Approach: Percutaneous

Percutaneous describes entry by needle or instrument puncture through the skin or mucous membrane to reach the site of the procedure, without cutting the tissue open or using a visualizing scope. It differs from Open in that the site itself is never exposed, and from Percutaneous Endoscopic in that no endoscope is used to see internal structures. Common examples include needle biopsies and injections.

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.