ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0DTK7ZZ

Resection Ascending Colon to No Qualifier with No Device, Via Natural or Artificial Opening Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemD Gastrointestinal System
OperationT Resection
Body PartK Ascending Colon
Approach7 Via Natural or Artificial Opening
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

Cutting out or off, without replacement, all of a body part

Procedure Overview

Resection describes the surgical removal of an entire gastrointestinal organ or a clearly defined anatomic segment of one, without putting anything in its place. Common examples include total gastrectomy for stomach cancer, complete removal of the appendix, and total colectomy for severe ulcerative colitis, where the entire designated body part as defined by the coding system is taken out rather than just a portion of it.

Surgeons choose resection when disease, most often cancer, severe inflammatory conditions, or irreversible ischemic damage, affects an entire organ or a segment that the classification treats as a whole unit, such as the cecum or the sigmoid colon. The remaining ends of the digestive tract are typically reconnected in the same operation, restoring continuity, though in some cases a stoma is created instead when reconnection is not immediately safe.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Ascending Colon

The ascending colon is the fixed, retroperitoneal segment of the large intestine that carries stool from the cecum upward to the hepatic flexure, and it is supplied primarily by the ileocolic and right colic arteries. Resection of this segment is performed for adenocarcinoma localized to the ascending colon, a large sessile polyp not resectable endoscopically, or complicated inflammatory disease confined to this region. Because the ascending colon is fixed to the posterior abdominal wall by peritoneal attachments, mobilization along the white line of Toldt is required before the segment can be resected and the remaining bowel reanastomosed, often to the transverse colon. Coders should confirm the resection is limited to this segment rather than extending proximally into the cecum or distally past the hepatic flexure, either of which would warrant a different body part value.

Approach: Via Natural or Artificial Opening

Via Natural or Artificial Opening means the instrument reaches the target site by passing through an existing body orifice, such as the mouth or urethra, or a surgically created opening like a stoma, without additional incision or scope guidance. It is distinguished from the Endoscopic variant by the absence of a visualizing scope, and from External by actually traversing into the body through that opening.

Coding & Documentation

The key documentation requirement is that the entire body part, as defined by the specific GI body part value, was removed, not merely a partial excision of tissue from within it. When only part of a segment is taken, such as a wedge of stomach tissue, the correct root operation is Excision rather than Resection, which is one of the most common assignment errors in this family. Coders must also identify whether an anastomosis, stoma, or other reconstruction was performed and code that separately from the resection itself, since the two are distinct steps. Clear identification of the specific segment removed, such as right colon versus left colon versus total colon, is essential because each maps to a different body part value.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionResection is most frequently confused with Excision, where only a portion of the body part is cut out rather than the whole defined segment, making the extent of removal the deciding factor.
DestructionIt is also distinguished from Destruction, which eliminates tissue without physically extracting it, such as through cautery or ablation, and from Detachment, which applies to external body parts rather than internal GI structures.
ReplacementWhen resection is followed by insertion of graft material to replace the organ's function, the additional step should be coded as Replacement.