CPT 44133: Living-Donor Intestinal Harvest with Primary Anastomosis
CPT code 44133 represents a complex abdominal surgical service in which a living donor provides a segment of intestine; the donor’s remaining bowel is reconnected by primary anastomosis and the harvested segment is cold-preserved. This code is clinically significant for transplant and complex reconstructive care pathways and has implications for surgical teams, hospital perioperative capacity, and payer coverage policies. Key payers reviewed in this national overview include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise explanation of the clinical service and typical sites of care, the common modifier set used alongside the code, and what is known about payer coverage patterns and billing considerations. The publication also summarizes benchmarking and policy-relevant issues that affect reimbursement and utilization for intestinal harvest procedures, highlights clinical context such as transplant and intestinal failure management, and identifies gaps where standard coding guidance or payer policy language is sparse. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 44133 describes a surgical procedure in which a segment of intestine is harvested from a living donor and the two remaining intestinal ends are surgically anastomosed (stitched) together. The code explicitly includes cold preservation of the donor intestinal segment as part of the billed service.
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Service type: Living-donor intestinal segment harvest with primary intestinal anastomosis; includes cold preservation of the donor intestine.
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Typical site of service: Hospital operating room or ambulatory surgical center configured for major abdominal surgery.
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, specific ICD-10 diagnoses, related codes, and service line.