ICD-10-PCS Billable Code

0LT14ZZ

Resection Shoulder Tendon, Right to No Qualifier with No Device, Percutaneous Endoscopic Approach

Procedural Specifications

Clinical Axis Detail Definition
Section0 Medical and Surgical
Body SystemL Tendons
OperationT Resection
Body Part1 Shoulder Tendon, Right
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 removes an entire tendon, or a clearly defined tendon body part, without putting in any replacement material. This is a less common tendon procedure than repair or reposition, and it is typically performed when a tendon is so severely diseased, degenerated, or tumor-involved that removing it entirely is the safest or most effective option, rather than attempting to preserve and repair it.

Examples include excising a tendon segment infiltrated by a soft tissue tumor, removing a chronically diseased tendon that is causing ongoing pain and dysfunction with no reasonable prospect of repair, or excising an entire tendon as part of managing a severe infection that has destroyed the tissue. Because tendons connect muscle to bone, complete resection without any subsequent reconstruction can leave a functional deficit, so it is often paired with a separate reconstructive procedure, sometimes performed later, to restore movement.

Anatomy & Axis Detail

Shoulder Tendon, Right

The right shoulder tendons, most notably the rotator cuff tendons, biceps tendon, and deltoid insertion, are resected in their entirety when irreparable tearing, chronic tendinopathy with extensive degeneration, or tumor involvement makes partial repair unfeasible. Complete resection differs from the far more common repair or debridement procedures performed on this joint, and it is typically reserved for cases such as a biceps tenotomy converted to full tendon excision or removal of a tendon sheath mass. Because the rotator cuff tendons blend into the joint capsule, surgeons must carefully define the resection margin to avoid destabilizing the glenohumeral joint, and the operative report should clarify which specific tendon, such as supraspinatus or long head of biceps, was excised rather than repaired or reattached.

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

This root operation applies only when an entire named tendon body part, not merely a segment or the whole tendon down to its full anatomic extent, is being cut out and nothing biological or synthetic is placed to take its structural role. Coders should confirm the operative note describes complete excision of the tendon at that body part value, and check whether any reconstructive graft was placed at the same time, since combined excision and grafting is coded as Replacement instead.

A common assignment mistake is applying Resection when only part of a tendon was removed and the remaining tendon was repaired or trimmed, which should instead be coded as Excision or Repair depending on the amount and intent of tissue removed. Coders should also watch for tumor cases where a wider excision spans tendon and adjacent soft tissue, which may require coding to more than one body system.

Commonly Confused With

ExcisionResection is frequently confused with Excision, since both remove tendon tissue; the distinguishing factor is completeness, Resection takes the entire tendon body part while Excision removes only a portion of it.
ReplacementIt is also confused with Replacement when a tumor resection is immediately followed by grafting to rebuild the tendon, in which case the excision and reconstruction should be captured as two distinct procedures rather than one combined code.