Summary & Overview
CPT 33902: Pulmonary Artery Stent Placement, Unilateral
CPT code 33902 represents a unilateral pulmonary artery stent placement performed via abnormal vascular connections to relieve focal pulmonary artery narrowing. This interventional cardiology procedure is clinically important for patients with congenital or acquired pulmonary artery stenosis and can affect hemodynamics, symptom burden, and downstream care needs. Nationally, the code is relevant to hospital-based interventional programs and insurers managing high-cost cardiovascular procedures.
Key payers addressed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical procedure and its typical sites of service, a summary of common billing modifiers and coding context (where available), and guidance on what to expect in claims processing and payer coverage review. The publication covers benchmarking concepts for utilization and reimbursement, relevant policy considerations affecting endovascular pulmonary interventions, and clinical context to inform documentation and claim justification.
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, specific ICD-10 diagnosis mappings, related codes, and payer-specific reimbursement rates.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 33902 describes a unilateral pulmonary artery stent placement performed via abnormal connections. The procedure involves deploying a stent to expand narrowed segments of a pulmonary artery that are accessed through atypical vascular or surgical connections.
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Service type: Endovascular stent placement for pulmonary artery stenosis via abnormal connections
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Typical site of service: Hospital-based interventional suite or cardiac catheterization laboratory
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an adult with symptomatic focal pulmonary artery stenosis (congenital or acquired) causing right ventricular pressure overload, exercise intolerance, dyspnea on exertion, or hypoxemia. The patient usually presents after noninvasive imaging (echocardiography, chest CT angiography, or cardiac MRI) and right heart catheterization confirm a discrete narrowing of a unilateral pulmonary artery branch amenable to transcatheter therapy. The clinical workflow: pre-procedure evaluation with review of imaging and hemodynamics, informed consent, percutaneous vascular access in a cardiac catheterization laboratory or hybrid operating room, selective angiography of the pulmonary arterial tree, balloon pre-dilation as indicated, deployment of a vascular stent via catheter through the abnormal connection to expand the narrowed pulmonary artery, post-deployment angiography and hemodynamic measurements, closure of access sites, and short-term observation in a monitored post-anesthesia care unit or inpatient cardiac unit. Typical site of service is an inpatient or outpatient cardiac catheterization laboratory or hybrid OR. The service represented is unilateral stent placement in a pulmonary artery.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | No modifier — standard reporting | Use for routine, reportable service without additional modifier application |