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CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

CPT code 35800 designates surgical exploration of the neck to identify and correct postoperative bleeding, clot formation, or infection. It captures a targeted procedure performed when complications arise after prior cervical surgery and is relevant for hospitals and surgical practices managing postoperative emergencies. Nationally, accurate use of this code affects clinical documentation, coding integrity, and payer adjudication for acute reintervention of the neck.

Key payers covered in this overview include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise explanation of the clinical context for CPT code 35800, typical sites of service, and common billing modifiers associated with complex surgical services. The publication outlines benchmarks for utilization and billing practice considerations, highlights policy factors that influence coverage and payment, and situates CPT 35800 within related surgical procedure coding to support accurate claim submission.

This summary is intended for coding specialists, surgical providers, and revenue cycle professionals seeking clear guidance on the clinical and billing role of CPT code 35800 in managing postoperative cervical complications.

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Billing Code Overview

CPT code 35800 describes reopening a patient’s neck incision to locate and control postoperative bleeding, evacuate hematoma, or address infection after a prior operation. This procedure involves surgical exploration of the cervical wound, identification of the source of the complication, and definitive control or debridement as indicated.

Service type: Surgical wound exploration and control of postoperative complication
Typical site of service: Operating room or procedural suite, commonly performed under general or regional anesthesia in an inpatient or outpatient surgical setting

Find policies, billing codes, payers, states, and providers

CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

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Sign up for cpt 35800 policy alerts

Get alerted when payer policies referencing 35800 are released or updated.

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Billing Code Overview

Service type: Surgical wound exploration and control of postoperative complication
Typical site of service: Operating room or procedural suite, commonly performed under general or regional anesthesia in an inpatient or outpatient surgical setting

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 58-year-old male underwent a thyroidectomy three days earlier and returns to the hospital with expanding neck hematoma, respiratory distress, and hemoglobin drop. The patient is taken emergently to the operating room for wound exploration. The surgeon reopens the prior cervical incision, evacuates hematoma and clot, identifies an arterial branch in the surgical bed as the bleeding source, secures hemostasis with suture ligation and electrocautery, irrigates the wound, assesses for infection, and closes the incision. The intraoperative team documents prior operative details, time since index operation, findings (active bleeding, clot, or purulence), steps used to control bleeding or address infection, blood loss, and wound closure method. Typical workflow includes preoperative airway assessment, anesthesia clearance (often general endotracheal), urgent operative consent (if feasible), intraoperative hemostasis and irrigation, possible drain placement, and postoperative monitoring in PACU or ICU depending on airway/bleeding risk.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the re-exploration requires substantially greater work than typical (extensive dissection, prolonged time) and documentation supports increased work.
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	Use when medically necessary anesthesia is required but not typical for the procedure (rare for urgent neck re-exploration under monitored anesthesia).
`26`	Professional component	Use when billing only the physician professional component separate from facility charges.
`59`	Distinct procedural service	Use to indicate a procedure is separate and distinct from other services on the same date when clinically appropriate.
`62`	Two surgeons	Use when two surgeons of different specialties perform distinct portions of the re-exploration concurrently.
`78`	Return to OR for related procedure during global period	Use when the patient returns to the operating room for a related procedure (e.g., to control postoperative bleeding) within the global period.
`79`	Unrelated procedure or service by the same physician during the postoperative period	Use when the return to OR is unrelated to the original procedure during the global period.
`52`	Reduced services	Use when the procedure is partially reduced or not completed as planned (e.g., aborted due to instability).
`53`	Discontinued procedure	Use when the procedure is started but discontinued due to extenuating circumstances or patient condition.
`76`	Repeat procedure by same physician	Use when the same physician performs the re-exploration more than once on the same day.
`77`	Repeat procedure by another physician	Use when a different physician repeats the re-exploration on the same day.
`80`	Assistant surgeon	Use when a qualified assistant surgeon participates and billing for assistant is appropriate.
`AS`	Physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist services	Use when an advanced practice clinician furnishes part of the service under appropriate supervision and payer allows billing.

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2080S0001X	General Surgery	Most common specialty performing neck re-exploration after thyroid/parathyroid or neck dissection complications.
207P00000X	Otolaryngology (ENT)	Frequently performs re-exploration for thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, or cervical procedures.
2086S0125X	Vascular Surgery	Involved when major cervical vascular injury or arterial bleeding control is required.
2085R0202X	Thoracic Surgery	Participates when re-exploration extends to thoracic inlet or mediastinal involvement.
363L00000X	Emergency Medicine (procedural consult)	Provides emergency airway or initial stabilization prior to OR transfer; less commonly the operative surgeon.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`T81.0XXA`	Hemorrhage and hematoma complicating a procedure, initial encounter	Common indication for neck re-exploration to evacuate hematoma and achieve hemostasis.
`T81.49XA`	Infection following a procedure, initial encounter	Records postoperative wound infection that may prompt re-exploration for drainage and debridement.
`I97.1`	Postprocedural hemorrhage and hematoma of a circulatory system organ or structure	Used when postoperative bleeding from cervical vessels requires operative control.
`J95.89`	Other postoperative respiratory complications	Relevant when airway compromise from neck hematoma or edema necessitates urgent exploration.
`R04.2`	Hemoptysis	Included when bleeding manifests with expectoration, although less common; may prompt airway-directed interventions.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`11000`	Debridement of extensive eczematous or infected skin (simple) — (Note: example basic code; exact code selection varies)	May be performed if superficial wound infection requires additional debridement during re-exploration.
`10120`	Incision and removal of foreign body, subcutaneous tissues; simple (e.g., removal of suture material or small retained clot)	Used for removal of retained only superficial material during wound exploration if coded separately.
`60212`	Thyroidectomy, re-exploration for recurrent disease or complication (Note: illustrative; specific thyroid reoperation codes apply)	May be reported when re-exploration includes definitive thyroid reoperation beyond control of bleeding or infection.
`36415`	Collection of venous blood by venipuncture	Common ancillary service performed perioperatively for labs to assess hemoglobin, coagulation.
`99100`	Anesthesia for emergency airway management	May be billed when emergency airway management is required preoperatively; payer rules vary.

CPT 35700: Reoperation on Arterial Bypass Graft

CPT-35701-NECK-ARTERY-EXPLORATION-SCAR-TISSUE-REMOVAL

CPT 35701: Neck Artery Exploration and Scar Tissue Removal

CPT-35702-UPPER-EXTREMITY-VASCULAR-EXPLORATION-NO-REPAIR

CPT 35702: Upper Extremity Vascular Exploration, No Repair

CPT-35703-LOWER-EXTREMITY-ARTERIAL-EXPLORATION-NO-REPAIR

CPT 35703: Exploratory Lower-Extremity Arterial Procedure Without Repair

CPT-35820-REOPEN-CHEST-TO-CONTROL-BLEEDING-CLOTTING-INFECTION

CPT 35820: Reopen Chest to Control Bleeding, Clotting, or Infection

CPT-35840-ABDOMINAL-RE-EXPLORATION-FOR-BLEEDING-OR-INFECTION

CPT 35840: Abdominal Re-exploration for Bleeding or Infection

CPT-35860-EXTREMITY-RE-EXPLORATION-FOR-BLEEDING-CLOTTING-INFECTION

CPT 35860: Re-exploration of Arm or Leg for Bleeding, Clotting, or Infection

CPT-35870-GRAFT-ENTERIC-FISTULA-REPAIR

CPT 35870: Repair of Vascular Graft‑to‑Intestine Fistula

CPT-35875-VASCULAR-GRAFT-THROMBECTOMY-NON-HEMODIALYSIS

CPT 35875: Removal of Clot from Non-Hemodialysis Vascular Graft

CPT-35876-CLOTTED-VASCULAR-GRAFT-REVISION-PATCHING

CPT 35876: Revision of Clotted Vascular Graft, Including Patching

Showing 1–10 of 18

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the re-exploration requires substantially greater work than typical (extensive dissection, prolonged time) and documentation supports increased work.
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	Use when medically necessary anesthesia is required but not typical for the procedure (rare for urgent neck re-exploration under monitored anesthesia).
`26`	Professional component	Use when billing only the physician professional component separate from facility charges.
`59`	Distinct procedural service	Use to indicate a procedure is separate and distinct from other services on the same date when clinically appropriate.
`62`	Two surgeons	Use when two surgeons of different specialties perform distinct portions of the re-exploration concurrently.
`78`	Return to OR for related procedure during global period	Use when the patient returns to the operating room for a related procedure (e.g., to control postoperative bleeding) within the global period.
`79`	Unrelated procedure or service by the same physician during the postoperative period	Use when the return to OR is unrelated to the original procedure during the global period.
`52`	Reduced services	Use when the procedure is partially reduced or not completed as planned (e.g., aborted due to instability).
`53`	Discontinued procedure	Use when the procedure is started but discontinued due to extenuating circumstances or patient condition.
`76`	Repeat procedure by same physician	Use when the same physician performs the re-exploration more than once on the same day.
`77`	Repeat procedure by another physician	Use when a different physician repeats the re-exploration on the same day.
`80`	Assistant surgeon	Use when a qualified assistant surgeon participates and billing for assistant is appropriate.
`AS`	Physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist services	Use when an advanced practice clinician furnishes part of the service under appropriate supervision and payer allows billing.

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2080S0001X	General Surgery	Most common specialty performing neck re-exploration after thyroid/parathyroid or neck dissection complications.
207P00000X	Otolaryngology (ENT)	Frequently performs re-exploration for thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, or cervical procedures.
2086S0125X	Vascular Surgery	Involved when major cervical vascular injury or arterial bleeding control is required.
2085R0202X	Thoracic Surgery	Participates when re-exploration extends to thoracic inlet or mediastinal involvement.
363L00000X	Emergency Medicine (procedural consult)	Provides emergency airway or initial stabilization prior to OR transfer; less commonly the operative surgeon.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`T81.0XXA`	Hemorrhage and hematoma complicating a procedure, initial encounter	Common indication for neck re-exploration to evacuate hematoma and achieve hemostasis.
`T81.49XA`	Infection following a procedure, initial encounter	Records postoperative wound infection that may prompt re-exploration for drainage and debridement.
`I97.1`	Postprocedural hemorrhage and hematoma of a circulatory system organ or structure	Used when postoperative bleeding from cervical vessels requires operative control.
`J95.89`	Other postoperative respiratory complications	Relevant when airway compromise from neck hematoma or edema necessitates urgent exploration.
`R04.2`	Hemoptysis	Included when bleeding manifests with expectoration, although less common; may prompt airway-directed interventions.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`11000`	Debridement of extensive eczematous or infected skin (simple) — (Note: example basic code; exact code selection varies)	May be performed if superficial wound infection requires additional debridement during re-exploration.
`10120`	Incision and removal of foreign body, subcutaneous tissues; simple (e.g., removal of suture material or small retained clot)	Used for removal of retained only superficial material during wound exploration if coded separately.
`60212`	Thyroidectomy, re-exploration for recurrent disease or complication (Note: illustrative; specific thyroid reoperation codes apply)	May be reported when re-exploration includes definitive thyroid reoperation beyond control of bleeding or infection.
`36415`	Collection of venous blood by venipuncture	Common ancillary service performed perioperatively for labs to assess hemoglobin, coagulation.
`99100`	Anesthesia for emergency airway management	May be billed when emergency airway management is required preoperatively; payer rules vary.

CPT 35700: Reoperation on Arterial Bypass Graft

CPT-35701-NECK-ARTERY-EXPLORATION-SCAR-TISSUE-REMOVAL

CPT 35701: Neck Artery Exploration and Scar Tissue Removal

CPT-35702-UPPER-EXTREMITY-VASCULAR-EXPLORATION-NO-REPAIR

CPT 35702: Upper Extremity Vascular Exploration, No Repair

CPT-35703-LOWER-EXTREMITY-ARTERIAL-EXPLORATION-NO-REPAIR

CPT 35703: Exploratory Lower-Extremity Arterial Procedure Without Repair

CPT-35820-REOPEN-CHEST-TO-CONTROL-BLEEDING-CLOTTING-INFECTION

CPT 35820: Reopen Chest to Control Bleeding, Clotting, or Infection

CPT-35840-ABDOMINAL-RE-EXPLORATION-FOR-BLEEDING-OR-INFECTION

CPT 35840: Abdominal Re-exploration for Bleeding or Infection

CPT-35860-EXTREMITY-RE-EXPLORATION-FOR-BLEEDING-CLOTTING-INFECTION

CPT 35860: Re-exploration of Arm or Leg for Bleeding, Clotting, or Infection

CPT-35870-GRAFT-ENTERIC-FISTULA-REPAIR

CPT 35870: Repair of Vascular Graft‑to‑Intestine Fistula

CPT-35875-VASCULAR-GRAFT-THROMBECTOMY-NON-HEMODIALYSIS

CPT 35875: Removal of Clot from Non-Hemodialysis Vascular Graft

CPT-35876-CLOTTED-VASCULAR-GRAFT-REVISION-PATCHING

CPT 35876: Revision of Clotted Vascular Graft, Including Patching

Showing 1–10 of 18

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

OpenPayer

CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

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Billing Code Overview

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CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

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Billing Code Overview

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References

CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

Sign up for cpt 35800 policy alerts

Billing Code Overview

CPT 35800: Neck Exploration for Bleeding, Clot, or Infection

Sign up for cpt 35800 policy alerts

Billing Code Overview

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

What clinical scenario does CPT 35800 cover and where is it typically performed?

Which modifiers are commonly relevant for billing CPT 35800 and how do 78 and 79 differ?

Which specialties typically perform neck re-exploration for bleeding or infection?

What related CPT codes or ancillary services are listed that might appear with a CPT 35800 claim?

Which ICD-10 diagnosis codes are commonly used to support billing for CPT 35800?

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

What clinical scenario does CPT 35800 cover and where is it typically performed?

Which modifiers are commonly relevant for billing CPT 35800 and how do 78 and 79 differ?

Which specialties typically perform neck re-exploration for bleeding or infection?

What related CPT codes or ancillary services are listed that might appear with a CPT 35800 claim?

Which ICD-10 diagnosis codes are commonly used to support billing for CPT 35800?

References