Summary & Overview
CPT 33774: Mustard/Senning Atrial Baffle Repair
CPT code 33774 represents an open cardiac surgical procedure—commonly known as the Mustard or Senning procedure—in which a surgeon constructs an intra-atrial baffle to redirect venous and arterial flow for correction of certain congenital heart defects. The operation is performed on cardiopulmonary bypass and is a specialized, high-acuity cardiac surgery typically requiring an inpatient hospital stay. Nationally, this code matters because it identifies complex congenital heart surgery that has implications for resource use, perioperative management, and specialized surgical teams.
Key payers included in the analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of the clinical context for CPT code 33774, the typical care setting, and what to expect in terms of service type. The publication also presents benchmark-oriented content and policy-relevant context including utilization patterns, payment considerations, and coding guidance where available. The goal is to provide clinicians, hospital administrators, and coding professionals with a concise reference to support correct code use, appropriate site-of-service identification, and alignment with payer expectations. Data not available in the input for detailed payer-specific rates, taxonomies, ICD-10 pairings, and related codes.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 33774 describes a surgical repair of a congenital cardiac defect in which the surgeon constructs an intra-atrial baffle or tunnel from the pericardium or atrial wall to redirect deoxygenated and oxygenated blood flow. This operation directs deoxygenated blood to the left ventricle and pulmonary artery and routes oxygenated blood to the right ventricle and aorta. The procedure is commonly referred to as a Mustard or Senning procedure.
Service Type: Open cardiac surgical repair with cardiopulmonary bypass
Typical Site of Service: Inpatient hospital operating room with cardiothoracic surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass capability
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, and related codes.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is a pediatric or young adult with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries or other congenital atrial-level discordance requiring an atrial switch (Mustard or Senning) to redirect systemic and pulmonary venous return. The patient presents with progressive cyanosis, exertional dyspnea, or heart failure symptoms and has confirming echocardiography and cardiac MRI demonstrating atrial anatomy amenable to a baffle/tunnel repair. The clinical workflow includes preoperative evaluation by pediatric/congenital cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, comprehensive imaging (transthoracic echocardiogram, transesophageal echo intraoperatively, and cardiac MRI/CT as needed), anesthetic assessment, informed consent, and placement on cardiopulmonary bypass for intraoperative creation of an atrial baffle using pericardium or atrial tissue. Postoperatively the patient is managed in a cardiac intensive care unit with hemodynamic monitoring, rhythm surveillance, anticoagulation management as indicated, and staged discharge planning with outpatient congenital cardiology follow-up for long‑term surveillance of baffle function and arrhythmia risk.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
62 | Two surgeons | Use when two surgeons from different specialties work together as primary surgeons during the procedure. |