Summary & Overview

CPT 0627T: Lumbar Intradiscal Cellular/Tissue Injection under Fluoroscopy

CPT code 0627T defines an image-guided intradiscal procedure in which a cellular or tissue–based product is injected into a lumbar intervertebral disc under fluoroscopic guidance. This code covers the first lumbar level treated and can represent a unilateral or bilateral injection. The code is notable nationally as regenerative and biologic intradiscal therapies expand and attract payer attention for coverage policy, coding guidance, and utilization oversight.

Key payers in the national analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of clinical procedure context, common billing considerations, and payer coverage framing. The publication summarizes available benchmarks where present, highlights relevant policy and coding updates impacting reimbursement and prior authorization, and situates 0627T within outpatient interventional spine service lines.

This summary is intended to inform billing managers, coding professionals, and policy analysts about the clinical purpose of the code, typical sites of service, and the payer landscape. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable in subsequent sections.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare0627TCPTintradiscal injectioninterventional spinebiologic therapyfluoroscopyoutpatient surgeryambulatory surgery center

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 0627T describes the injection of a cellular or tissue–based product under fluoroscopic guidance into a lumbar intervertebral disc. The code applies to the first lumbar level treated; the injection may be performed on one side or both.

Service type: Image-guided intradiscal biologic injection
Typical site of service: Outpatient procedure suite or ambulatory surgery center with fluoroscopic imaging capability

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 45-year-old patient with chronic axial low back pain and imaging-confirmed single-level lumbar disc degeneration (posterior L5–S1 disc dessiccation and focal annular tear) who has failed conservative care including physical therapy, activity modification, oral analgesics, and at least one epidural steroid injection undergoes injection of a cellular or tissue–based product into the affected lumbar intervertebral disc under fluoroscopic guidance. The procedure is performed in an outpatient ambulatory surgery center or hospital interventional radiology suite with conscious sedation or monitored anesthesia care. The patient is positioned prone, sterile technique is used, and fluoroscopy localizes the target disc. A spinal needle is advanced into the nucleus pulposus; the investigational or biologic product is injected into the disc space for the first treated level. Post-procedure fluoroscopic images confirm placement and absence of extravasation. The patient is observed in recovery for immediate complications and discharged with activity restrictions and follow-up instructions.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when work or complexity is substantially greater than typical for `0627T` and documentation supports unusual effort.

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207X00000X	Orthopaedic Surgery	Spine surgeons performing interventional biologic disc procedures.
2084P0800X	Pain Medicine	Interventional pain physicians who perform fluoroscopically guided disc injections.
2080P0004X	Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation	PM&R physicians specializing in spine interventions.
363L00000X	Interventional Radiology	Radiologists who perform image-guided intradiscal injections.
208100000X	Anesthesiology	Anesthesiologists providing monitored anesthesia care for the procedure.

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`M51.26`	Other intervertebral disc displacement, lumbosacral region	Common diagnosis for symptomatic lumbar disc pathology targeted by intradiscal biologic injection.
`M51.37`	Other intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbar region	Indicates degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine treated with biologic intradiscal therapy.
`M51.36`	Intervertebral disc degeneration, lumbosacral region	Represents degenerative changes at lumbosacral levels that may be treated with `0627T`.
`M54.16`	Radiculopathy, lumbar region	Symptoms of nerve root compression that may prompt therapeutic intradiscal injection as part of care.
`M54.5`	Low back pain	Common presenting symptom for patients evaluated for intradiscal biologic injection.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`77002`	Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement (e.g., spinal, paraspinous, or sacroiliac joint), single level	Used to report image guidance during needle placement for `0627T` when payer requires separate reporting for fluoroscopy.
`64483`	Injection(s), anesthetic agent and/or steroid, transforaminal epidural; lumbar or sacral, single level	Performed prior to or as an alternative to `0627T` in diagnostic/therapeutic management of lumbar radicular pain.
`62287`	Injection(s), diagnostic or therapeutic, performed under imaging guidance, including needle or catheter placement; percutaneous, lumbar spinal injection (e.g., discography)	Related diagnostic procedures such as discography that may precede decision to perform `0627T`.
`20610`	Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection; major joint or bursa (e.g., hip, shoulder)	Represents injection procedural coding; not for the disc but analogous for billing injection services when payers compare policies.
`99024`	Postoperative follow-up visit, related to minor surgery during global period	Used for routine postoperative follow-up visits after `0627T` within the global period when payers permit billing.

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