Summary & Overview
CPT 43832: Surgical Gastric Access for Enteral Feeding or Decompression
CPT code 43832 identifies a surgical procedure to create direct access to the stomach lumen for enteral feeding or gastric decompression. This procedure is clinically important because it supports long-term nutrition and management of upper gastrointestinal emptying, affecting hospitalized and chronically ill patients nationwide. Payers commonly involved in covering services coded with 43832 include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
Readers will find a national overview of the clinical context for CPT code 43832, descriptions of typical sites of service, and which major payers are relevant to coverage discussions. The publication summarizes common billing practices and benchmarking topics related to surgical gastric access procedures, highlights coding considerations, and outlines where to look for policy updates and payer-specific guidelines. Data not provided in the input—such as detailed payer reimbursement rates, associated taxonomies, and ICD-10 diagnoses—are noted as unavailable. The content is intended to inform clinical coders, revenue cycle managers, and policy analysts about the role of CPT code 43832 in surgical and inpatient care pathways.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 43832 describes a surgical procedure to gain direct access to the lumen of the stomach for patients who require enteral feeding or gastric decompression. The procedure establishes a permanent or long-term opening through the abdominal wall into the stomach to allow nutrition delivery or emptying of the upper gastrointestinal tract.
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Service Type: Surgical placement of a gastric access device for feeding or decompression
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Typical Site of Service: Hospital operating room or ambulatory surgical center
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 68-year-old patient with advanced neurologic impairment and chronic oropharyngeal dysphagia presents with recurrent aspiration and inadequate oral intake. The patient has failed prolonged attempts at safe oral feeding and requires long-term enteral nutrition. After multidisciplinary assessment, the surgical service schedules a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement to provide direct access to the gastric lumen for feeding and gastric decompression. The workflow includes pre-procedure consent and history, medical optimization (review of anticoagulation, coagulation studies, and antibiotics per institutional protocol), sedation planning with anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care, endoscopic visualization of the stomach, transillumination and external site selection, placement of the gastrostomy tube by the endoscopist with sterile technique, verification of tube position, and post-procedure monitoring for immediate complications (bleeding, peritonitis, aspiration). The typical site of service is an ambulatory surgical center or hospital operating room/procedure suite, with the procedure performed by a gastroenterologist or general surgeon and potential involvement of an interventional radiologist if image-guided placement is required. Discharge planning includes tube care education for nursing and caregivers and arrangements for enteral nutrition support services.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
11 | Normal or routine service | Use when the procedure is the primary, uncomplicated service performed by the billing practitioner. |