Summary & Overview
CPT 47140: Donor Hepatectomy, Left Lateral Segments Only
CPT code 47140 represents a living donor hepatectomy in which the surgeon removes the second and third left lateral segments of the liver and preserves the graft in cold storage for later transplantation. This code captures a discrete, complex surgical step in the living-donor liver transplant pathway and is significant for transplant centers, payers, and surgical teams because it documents the donor operation separate from the recipient transplant.
Key payers in the national analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for CPT code 47140, how it fits into surgical care pathways for living-donor liver transplantation, and typical sites of service. The publication also provides benchmarking and reimbursement context where available, common modifier usage, and implications for billing workflows and claims adjudication.
The report is intended for billing managers, transplant program administrators, and policy analysts seeking a clear, national-level reference for coding and administrative handling of donor hepatectomy cases.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 47140 describes a donor hepatectomy performed on a living donor in which the provider surgically resects the second and third left lateral liver segments only. The resected liver tissue is placed in cold preservation for subsequent transplantation into a recipient in a separate procedure.
Service Type: Surgical — Living Donor Hepatectomy (liver resection)
Typical Site of Service: Hospital operating room with transplant services and associated perioperative care
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 28-year-old healthy living donor undergoes evaluation and selection to donate the left lateral segments (segments II and III) of the liver to a pediatric recipient with end-stage liver disease. Preoperative workup includes crossmatch, ABO compatibility testing, imaging (contrast-enhanced CT or MRI with volumetry), and liver function testing. On the day of surgery, the donor is taken to the operating room under general anesthesia. The transplant surgeon performs a donor hepatectomy limited to resection of the second and third left lateral segments only, preserving the remaining liver in the donor. The resected graft is flushed and placed in cold preservation solution and transported immediately to a separate operating room where a recipient transplant team implants the graft in the recipient during a separate procedure. Postoperative workflow includes donor recovery monitoring, pain control, laboratory surveillance for hepatic synthetic function, and discharge planning; the recipient follows a standard orthotopic liver transplant pathway with immunosuppression and graft function monitoring.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
62 | Two surgeons | Use when two surgeons work together as primary surgeons because of technical difficulty or requirement for concurrent expertise during donor hepatectomy. |
63 |