ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0BT24ZZ

Resection Carina to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemB Respiratory System
OperationT Resection
Body Part2 Carina
Approach4 Percutaneous Endoscopic
DeviceZ No Device
QualifierZ No Qualifier

Operation Definition

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

Procedure Overview

Resection describes the complete surgical removal of an entire respiratory structure without replacing it, and in this body system it most often refers to pneumonectomy, the removal of an entire lung, most commonly performed for lung cancer that cannot be controlled with a smaller resection. It also covers total removal of a lobe when the whole lobe is taken, though partial lobe removal is classified differently.

These are major operations reserved for situations where disease, most often malignancy but sometimes severe infection or destroyed lung tissue, involves an entire anatomically distinct structure, making anything less than complete removal insufficient. Patients undergoing these procedures typically face a lasting reduction in lung capacity, so candidacy is carefully weighed against overall lung function beforehand.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Carina

The carina is the ridge of cartilage where the trachea divides into the right and left main bronchi, a site with minimal room for error given its proximity to the heart, great vessels, and both lungs' airflow. Resection of the carina is reserved for tumors, typically bronchogenic carcinoma, that invade this junction and cannot be managed by a lobar or single-bronchus procedure alone. Because removing the carina eliminates the natural branch point of the airway, the operation is inseparable from reconstruction: the surgeon must fashion a new anastomosis joining the trachea to one or both main bronchi, often with a sleeve resection of adjacent bronchus. Documentation should reflect that this is a complex thoracic procedure carrying significant risk of anastomotic leak or stenosis, distinguishing it from simpler bronchial excisions.

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

The operative report must clearly state that an entire named anatomical unit, a whole lung, a whole lobe, or the whole trachea, was removed, since ICD-10-PCS Resection requires completeness of that structure. A frequent coding error is applying Resection to a lobectomy when only part of a lobe was actually removed, or applying it to a wedge resection of lung tissue, both of which should be coded as Excision because they remove only a portion of the body part.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionThe essential distinction is with Excision, used whenever only a part of a respiratory structure is cut out rather than the whole named unit, such as a wedge resection or segmentectomy.
TransplantationIt's also distinct from Transplantation, since Resection removes tissue permanently without a replacement organ being implanted in the same family of codes.