ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0FR50KZ

Replacement Hepatic Duct, Right to No Qualifier with Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, Open Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemF Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas
OperationR Replacement
Body Part5 Hepatic Duct, Right
Approach0 Open
DeviceK Nonautologous Tissue Substitute
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Putting in or on biological or synthetic material that physically takes the place and/or function of all or a portion of a body part

Procedure Overview

Replacement procedures in this body system involve putting in biological or synthetic material that physically takes over for hepatobiliary or pancreatic tissue that has been removed or has failed. This is less common here than in joints or vessels, but it appears in cases such as reconstructing a resected segment of common bile duct with a synthetic conduit, or substituting a portion of the biliary tree with harvested tissue when the native duct cannot be repaired or reconnected directly.

The goal is to restore the physical pathway or structural function that the original tissue provided, most often maintaining bile flow from the liver to the intestine after injury, tumor removal, or failed prior surgery. Because these are structurally significant reconstructions, they're typically performed as part of a larger operation rather than as standalone procedures.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Hepatic Duct, Right

The right hepatic duct carries bile from the right hepatic lobe toward its junction with the left duct, and replacement coding applies when this segment is substituted with biological or synthetic material rather than simply repaired, such as after resection for a hilar cholangiocarcinoma or severe iatrogenic stricture where primary closure is not feasible. Because the duct's small caliber and location deep in the porta hepatis make direct grafting technically demanding, replacement in this location is far less common than reconstruction using a loop of jejunum, and coders should verify from the operative report whether the procedure genuinely substituted duct tissue with graft material or instead diverted bile flow, which would be coded differently despite superficial similarity in surgical goal.

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: Nonautologous Tissue Substitute

Nonautologous Tissue Substitute refers to biologic material sourced from a donor or another species, such as an allograft or xenograft, used to replace a body part. It differs from Autologous Tissue Substitute by tissue origin outside the patient's own body, and from Synthetic Substitute by being biologic rather than manufactured material.

Coding & Documentation

Coders should look for explicit documentation that a graft, conduit, or other material was used to physically stand in for tissue that was excised or was not repairable in place. The operative report needs to state what was removed, what material replaced it, and where it was anastomosed. A common mistake is coding Replacement when the surgeon actually reconstructed continuity using the patient's own repositioned tissue, such as a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy, which is typically coded differently since bowel is being connected rather than biliary tissue being replaced. Confirming the material type (autograft, synthetic, or nonautologous) also matters for accurate device character assignment.

Commonly Confused With

SupplementReplacement is often confused with Supplement, where added material reinforces existing tissue rather than substituting for tissue that's gone.
RepositionIt also differs from Reposition, which relocates existing anatomy without adding replacement material, and from Repair, which restores original structure using native tissue alone.