0QR147Z
Replacement Sacrum to No Qualifier with Autologous Tissue Substitute, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | Q Lower Bones |
| Operation | R Replacement |
| Body Part | 1 Sacrum |
| Approach | 4 Percutaneous Endoscopic |
| Device | 7 Autologous Tissue Substitute |
| Qualifier | Z 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 put in biological or synthetic material that physically takes over the role of all or part of a lower bone. This includes structural bone grafts, cadaver bone allografts, and synthetic bone substitutes used to rebuild a portion of the pelvis, femur, tibia, fibula, or foot bones after tumor resection, severe trauma, or bone loss from infection.
These procedures are performed when a segment of bone is missing or so damaged that it can no longer support the body's structure or function on its own, and simply repairing or repositioning the remaining bone isn't enough. A patient who has had a tumor removed from the femoral shaft, for example, may need the resulting gap filled with a structural allograft to restore the bone's load-bearing capacity.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Sacrum
The sacrum is the large, wedge-shaped bone formed by fused vertebral segments that links the spine to the pelvis at the sacroiliac joints and bears substantial load transferred from the trunk to the lower limbs. Replacement of the sacrum is a major reconstructive procedure typically performed after tumor resection, such as chordoma, or after severe traumatic destruction, where a structural device or graft substitutes for the excised bone to preserve spinopelvic continuity. Because the sacrum also houses the sacral nerve roots governing bowel, bladder, and lower extremity function, reconstructive planning is complex, though for coding purposes the key distinction is that native sacral bone has been replaced with device material rather than simply repaired or fused.
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.
Device: Autologous Tissue Substitute
Autologous Tissue Substitute identifies a device value where material harvested from the patient's own body, such as an autograft, is used to replace or reconstruct a body part. Its defining feature is tissue origin from the patient, setting it apart from Nonautologous Tissue Substitute, sourced from a donor or animal, and Synthetic Substitute, made of manufactured material.
Coding & Documentation
Documentation must describe material being put in that takes over the physical role of the bone segment - not material that merely reinforces existing bone, which would be Supplement instead. The type of graft or substitute material and the specific bone segment addressed both need to be clear in the operative note. A frequent error is coding Replacement when bone graft is used to fill a defect but the native bone structure is still largely intact and functional, which points toward Supplement rather than Replacement; another is confusing joint replacement procedures, which are coded to the Lower Joints body system, with bone-segment replacement coded here.
