Summary & Overview

CPT 0339T: Percutaneous Bilateral Renal Artery Radiofrequency Ablation

CPT code 0339T denotes a physician-performed percutaneous procedure delivering radiofrequency energy to the endoluminal surface of both renal arteries. This emerging endovascular intervention targets the renal arterial wall and is relevant for advanced interventional radiology and vascular surgery services. Nationally, the code matters because it captures a specialized, device-driven service where coding precision affects coverage determinations, site-of-service designation, and hospital outpatient billing.

Key payers discussed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical intent and typical delivery settings, plus national benchmarking context where available. The publication outlines expected service lines and common billing considerations tied to this procedure and summarizes where practice patterns intersect with payer policy.

This report provides clinicians, coding professionals, and policy analysts with: an explanation of the code and clinical context; expected sites of service and service type; a summary of payers that commonly adjudicate claims for this service; and guidance on what information is not available in the input. Data not available in the input includes associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, related codes, and detailed payer-specific coverage policies.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare0339TCPTrenal artery ablationendovascular procedureradiofrequency ablationinterventional radiologyvascular surgeryoutpatient procedure

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 0339T describes a percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of the endoluminal surface of bilateral renal arteries. The procedure involves a physician-performed, image-guided percutaneous approach to deliver radiofrequency energy to the interior lining of the renal arteries on both sides of the body.

Service type: Percutaneous endovascular radiofrequency ablation procedure
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center with interventional radiology or vascular surgery capability

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A typical patient is a 55–75-year-old with treatment-resistant hypertension despite multi-drug therapy and lifestyle measures or a patient with sympathetic-mediated renal artery-related pain syndromes being evaluated for percutaneous renal denervation. The patient presents to an outpatient vascular interventional suite or hospital-based cath lab after referral from cardiology, nephrology, or hypertension specialty clinic. Pre-procedure workflow includes informed consent, review of medications (anticoagulants managed per institutional policy), baseline renal function labs and imaging (CT angiography or duplex ultrasound to assess renal artery anatomy and stenosis), and assessment for contraindications (e.g., significant atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis, renal artery anatomy unsuitable for device access).

On the day of service, the patient undergoes conscious sedation or monitored anesthesia care provided in the interventional suite. Vascular access (typically femoral or radial) is obtained, diagnostic renal angiography is performed to confirm vessel size and plan ablation, and the physician advances a percutaneous catheter to each renal artery. Radiofrequency energy is delivered endoluminally to both renal arteries according to device and protocol parameters. Hemostasis is achieved at the access site and the patient is monitored post-procedure for hemodynamic stability and renal function before discharge or brief inpatient observation. Follow-up includes blood pressure monitoring, renal function labs, and antihypertensive regimen adjustment as clinically indicated.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when work or resources required are substantially greater than typical for `0339T` and properly documented.
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	Use when general anesthesia is medically necessary and that anesthesia is unrelated to the inherent sedation of the procedure.
`52`	Reduced services	Use when a partially performed renal denervation procedure is documented (e.g., aborted before completion) and less than standard service was rendered.
`53`	Discontinued procedure	Use when the procedure is started but discontinued for patient-related or intra-procedural reasons and documentation supports discontinuation.
`62`	Two surgeons	Use when two surgeons work together as primary surgeons during the procedure and documentation supports shared primary responsibilities.
`66`	Surgical team	Use when part of a documented surgical team (e.g., complex cases requiring multiple specialized physicians).
`78`	Return to OR for related procedure during postoperative period	Use if patient returns to the operating room for a related renal artery complication during the global period.
`80`	Assistant surgeon	Use when an assistant surgeon performs part of the procedure and documentation supports assistance.
`81`	Minimum assistant surgeon	Use when minimal assistance is provided and documentation supports the reduced role.
`AS`	Physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist services	Use when an APP performs part of the procedure in accordance with payer rules and state scope of practice.

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`208000000X`	Vascular Surgery	Commonly performs endovascular renal interventions including renal denervation.
`207RG0100X`	Interventional Cardiology	Performs catheter-based renal denervation in hypertension management programs.
`207RI0018X`	Interventional Radiology	Performs percutaneous renal artery procedures in image-guided settings.
`163W00000X`	Pain Medicine	May participate for sympathetic-mediated renal pain indications or multidisciplinary cases.
`2080P0005X`	Nephrology	Referring specialty and may be involved in pre/post-procedure management of renal function.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`I10`	Essential (primary) hypertension	Primary indication for renal denervation in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension.
`I15.0`	Renovascular hypertension	Secondary hypertension due to renal artery disease; relevant for evaluation though significant stenosis may contraindicate denervation.
`I12.9`	Hypertensive chronic kidney disease with stage unspecified chronic kidney disease	Patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease are evaluated carefully for renal denervation due to renal function considerations.
`N28.9`	Disorder of kidney and ureter, unspecified	General kidney disorders may influence candidacy and peri-procedural risk assessment.
`R03.0`	Elevated blood-pressure reading, without diagnosis of hypertension	Used for documentation of persistently elevated readings during evaluation for possible intervention.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`36010`	Introduction of catheter, vena cava, superior or inferior, for diagnostic, with angiography, when performed	Vascular access and venous catheterization codes may be used for adjunctive vascular access procedures when applicable; diagnostic angiography of venous structures is uncommon for this procedure but relevant if venous access is required.
`36215`	Selective catheter placement, renal artery, unilateral, with diagnostic angiography	Commonly billed for diagnostic renal angiography to define renal artery anatomy before or during `0339T`.
`35475`	Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, percutaneous femoral approach	Representative of percutaneous femoral access techniques; component codes for percutaneous access and closure may be used with renal artery interventions.
`92980`	Percutaneous transcatheter closure of coronary artery fistula, with embolization or other management	Not directly related but illustrative of catheter-based endovascular ablative/occlusive therapies; included as an example of endovascular technique coding.
`99024`	Postoperative follow-up visit, postoperative; related to routine postoperative care	Used for routine post-procedure follow-up visits during the global period following `0339T`.