Summary & Overview
CPT 33310: Cardiac Foreign Body or Clot Extraction, No CPB
CPT code 33310 covers open surgical incision of the heart to find and remove a foreign body or intracardiac clot without use of cardiopulmonary bypass. The code captures a high-acuity, operative cardiac intervention used when less invasive retrieval methods are infeasible or contraindicated. It is nationally relevant due to its implications for surgical resource use, perioperative risk management, and hospital payment for complex cardiac procedures.
Key payers included in this analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context, typical sites of service, and common billing and coding considerations tied to this procedure. The publication also summarizes payer coverage landscapes and benchmark considerations where available.
The report provides actionable summaries of reimbursement benchmarks, utilization patterns, and recent policy updates that affect how CPT code 33310 is billed and adjudicated. Clinical context sections describe when the procedure is indicated and the operational environment required. If specific payer policy or claim detail is not present in the source input, the document notes "Data not available in the input."
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 33310 describes a surgical procedure in which a provider makes an incision in the heart to locate and remove a foreign body or intracardiac clot without placing the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). This procedure is performed to directly extract obstructive material from the cardiac chambers or walls when less invasive approaches are unsuitable or have failed.
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Service type: Open cardiac surgical extraction of foreign body or clot (without cardiopulmonary bypass)
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Typical site of service: Inpatient operating room or cardiac surgical suite where open-heart procedures are performed; may require perioperative critical care resources.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 62-year-old male with a history of atrial fibrillation and recent embolic stroke presents to the emergency department with acute chest pain and signs of hemodynamic instability. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography identify a mobile intracardiac thrombus lodged in the left atrium near the mitral valve apparatus. The cardiothoracic surgery team evaluates the patient and determines that an urgent surgical intracardiac thrombectomy without cardiopulmonary bypass is feasible and indicated to remove the clot and restore cardiac function. The patient is brought to the operating room, monitored in a standard cardiac surgical suite, and placed under general anesthesia. The surgeon performs a limited atriotomy, visualizes and extracts the thrombus/foreign body, achieves hemostasis, closes the atriotomy, and transfers the patient to the intensive care unit for postoperative monitoring. Perioperative documentation includes operative indication, approach (atrial incision), lack of cardiopulmonary bypass usage, findings, estimated blood loss, anesthesia record, and post-procedure disposition.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | Default, no modifier | Routine reporting when no modifier applies |
11 |