07YM0Z0
Transplantation Thymus to Allogeneic with No Device, Open Approach
Procedural Specifications
| Clinical Axis | Detail Definition |
|---|---|
| Section | 0 Medical and Surgical |
| Body System | 7 Lymphatic and Hemic Systems |
| Operation | Y Transplantation |
| Body Part | M Thymus |
| Approach | 0 Open |
| Device | Z No Device |
| Qualifier | 0 Allogeneic |
Operation Definition
Putting in or on all or a portion of a living body part taken from another individual or animal to physically take the place and/or function of all or a portion of a similar body part
Procedure Overview
Transplantation in this body system means taking living tissue from another person and placing it in a patient to take over the function of a missing or nonfunctional native structure, and the clearest example is thymus tissue transplantation for infants born with complete DiGeorge syndrome. These children lack a functioning thymus, the organ responsible for maturing T cells, which leaves them without a working immune system. Surgeons implant cultured thymus tissue from a donor into the recipient's body, where it can begin to support the development of the child's own immune cells over time.
This is a highly specialized procedure performed at a small number of centers, reserved for a rare and serious immune deficiency, and it illustrates how transplantation in the lymphatic and hemic system focuses on restoring an entire biological function rather than simply repairing damaged tissue.
Anatomy & Axis Detail
Thymus
Thymus transplantation is a highly specialized procedure used almost exclusively to treat complete DiGeorge syndrome and related severe congenital athymia, where cultured allogeneic thymic tissue is implanted, most commonly into the quadriceps muscle, to restore T-cell development in infants who otherwise lack functional cell-mediated immunity. Unlike thymus surgery for myasthenia gravis or thymoma, which involves removing native tissue, this procedure replaces an absent or nonfunctional organ with donor-derived tissue and is performed at a small number of specialized centers under research or expanded-access protocols. Because the graft is processed thymic tissue rather than a solid vascularized organ transplant in the traditional sense, documentation should reflect the specific product and implantation site along with the underlying immunodeficiency diagnosis driving the procedure.
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.
Qualifier: Allogeneic
This qualifier denotes an allogeneic tissue substitute, meaning material derived from another individual of the same species rather than the patient's own tissue. It is distinguished from the syngeneic qualifier, which applies only to genetically identical donors, and from zooplastic, which denotes tissue sourced from a different species entirely.
Coding & Documentation
Coders should look for explicit documentation that donor tissue, such as thymus, was implanted to take over the function of the patient's own nonfunctioning or absent structure, along with confirmation that the tissue came from another individual rather than the patient's own body. A frequent point of confusion is failing to distinguish an allogeneic donor source, which supports Transplantation, from autologous tissue relocated within the same patient, which would be coded differently. The donor relationship and the intent to replace lost function must both be clearly stated in the record.