Summary & Overview
CPT 00924: Anesthesia for Undescended Testis Repair
CPT code 00924 denotes anesthesia services for surgical procedures addressing an undescended testis (cryptorchidism) on one or both sides. As a focused anesthesia code tied to pediatric and adult genitourinary surgery, it is relevant to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, anesthesiology groups, and payers managing perioperative care and reimbursements nationwide. Key payers in common coverage discussions include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
Readers will find a concise explanation of the clinical scenario covered by the code, typical sites of service, and which payers are commonly involved. The publication also summarizes related procedural context and adjacent anesthesia codes to help clinicians and billing staff identify correct coding pathways. Content includes benchmark and policy considerations affecting anesthesia billing for genitourinary surgery, payer coverage patterns, and coding relationships to nearby anesthesia codes for male genital procedures. The goal is to present clear, actionable information about the code’s clinical scope and the payer landscape, supporting accurate claim submission and administrative workflows at a national level.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 00924 describes anesthesia services provided for a patient undergoing a procedure to correct an undescended testis on one or both sides. The code represents perioperative anesthesia care associated with surgical management of cryptorchidism.
Service Type: Anesthesia services for genitourinary surgery
Typical Site of Service: Operating room or ambulatory surgery center, where surgical repair of an undescended testis is performed.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 6-year-old male presents with an undescended testis (cryptorchidism) scheduled for orchiopexy under general anesthesia. Preoperative evaluation identifies a healthy child with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status P1. The anesthesia team — an anesthesiologist or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist — performs a preoperative assessment, induction of general anesthesia, intraoperative airway and hemodynamic management, and emergence with postoperative handoff to PACU nursing staff. The procedure may be unilateral or bilateral; when bilateral, anesthesia services are billed for the same operative session. Operative factors that can alter anesthesia complexity include patient comorbidities, prior abdominal or inguinal surgery, prolonged operative time, or intraoperative complications requiring additional anesthesia time or critical care-level management. Typical sites of service are the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) or hospital outpatient operating room; inpatient settings occur when associated conditions require admission. Common payors for this service include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, BUCA, and Medicare.
Coding Specifications
- The following modifiers are the most clinically relevant for anesthesia services for orchiopexy/undescended testis procedures. Use only clinically appropriate, CMS-standard modifiers.
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
AA |