Summary & Overview
CPT 35600: Arterial Graft Harvest from Arm for Coronary Bypass
CPT code 35600 denotes open surgical harvest of an arterial segment from the patient’s arm to be used as a conduit for coronary artery bypass. This code captures a distinct graft-harvesting step that is integral to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures and can affect surgical coding, resource use, and payment decisions. Nationally, accurate use of this code matters for procedure-level quality measurement, operative cost accounting, and appropriate reimbursement for the additional surgical work of harvesting an arterial graft.
Key payers discussed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context and the procedure’s role in CABG, along with benchmarks and policy-relevant considerations where available. The publication outlines how this code interacts with surgical service lines, expected sites of service, and common modifier usage (listed separately), and highlights gaps where Data not available in the input prevents detailed payer-specific rates or utilization metrics.
This briefing is intended for coding professionals, surgical services administrators, and policy analysts seeking a clear summary of the code’s clinical meaning, typical care setting, and where to look next for payer-specific payment and utilization data.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 35600 describes an open surgical procedure in which the provider harvests a portion of a healthy artery from the patient’s arm to create a bypass conduit used to route blood around a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery. This procedure involves an open approach to obtain an arterial graft for coronary artery bypass.
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Service type: Surgical arterial graft harvest for coronary bypass
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Typical site of service: Inpatient or outpatient surgical setting, commonly performed in an operating room under general anesthesia
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is a 62-year-old male with exertional angina and documented multivessel coronary artery disease who is scheduled for a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) using an autologous arm artery conduit. The patient has failed or is unsuitable for percutaneous coronary intervention due to diffuse proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis. Preoperative workup includes history and physical, cardiac catheterization documenting the target coronary lesions, duplex ultrasound or Allen test to confirm adequate collateral hand circulation, baseline labs, and anesthesia evaluation. In the operating room under general anesthesia, the cardiothoracic surgeon performs a sterile open harvest of a healthy artery from the patient’s arm (commonly the radial artery) via an open approach to prepare the graft. The harvested arterial segment is then used to create a bypass graft to a coronary artery during the same operative session. Intraoperative documentation includes laterality of harvest, vessel type (radial artery), length of harvested conduit, confirmation of intact distal perfusion post-harvest, graft implantation details, estimated blood loss, and any complications. Postoperative workflow includes transfer to a cardiac recovery area, monitoring for hand ischemia or graft failure, wound care for the arm incision, and documentation of the provider and facility components for billing purposes.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | Applied when reporting only the surgeon’s professional component separate from the facility fee, if payer allows split billing. |