2025 CPT code 37197
Effective Date: N/A Surgery - Surgical Procedures on the Cardiovascular System Feed
Transcatheter retrieval, percutaneous, of intravascular foreign body (e.g., fractured venous or arterial catheter), includes radiological supervision and interpretation, and imaging guidance (ultrasound or fluoroscopy), when performed.
Modifiers such as 22 (Increased Procedural Services), 51 (Multiple Procedures), 52 (Reduced Services), 53 (Discontinued Procedure), 59 (Distinct Procedural Service) and others as applicable.
Medical necessity must be established by documenting the presence of an intravascular foreign body that poses a risk to the patient's health. The documentation should support the need for percutaneous retrieval and the chosen imaging guidance method.
The physician is responsible for prepping and anesthetizing the patient, puncturing the blood vessel, inserting the guidewire and catheter, retrieving the foreign body, removing the catheter, and controlling bleeding.
In simple words: A doctor inserts a thin tube through your skin into a blood vessel to remove a foreign object, like a broken catheter piece. X-ray or ultrasound is used to guide the tube.
This code describes a procedure where a provider removes a foreign body from a blood vessel using a catheter inserted through the skin. It includes radiological supervision and interpretation along with imaging guidance using ultrasound or fluoroscopy. The procedure involves puncturing the affected blood vessel with a needle, inserting a guidewire to the foreign body location, and advancing a catheter with a grasping instrument over the guidewire. The foreign body is then retrieved using the grasping instrument, the catheter is removed, and bleeding is controlled. This code is not applicable for vena cava filter retrieval (37193) or transcatheter removal of a permanent leadless pacemaker (33275).
Example 1: A patient presents with a fractured venous catheter tip within the femoral vein. The physician performs a transcatheter retrieval using fluoroscopic guidance., A patient has a broken piece of an arterial catheter in the brachial artery. Ultrasound guidance is used for the percutaneous transcatheter retrieval of the foreign body., A patient with a retained guidewire in the inferior vena cava requires a transcatheter percutaneous retrieval. The procedure is performed under radiological supervision and interpretation using fluoroscopy.
Documentation should include details of the foreign body, its location, the method of retrieval (fluoroscopy or ultrasound guidance), the type of catheter used, and any complications encountered. Confirmation of the successful removal of the foreign body should also be documented. Reports of imaging guidance used should be included.
- Revenue Code: P2F
- Specialties:Interventional Radiology, Vascular Surgery, Cardiology
- Place of Service:Inpatient Hospital, Outpatient Hospital, Ambulatory Surgical Center