Summary & Overview
CPT 47141: Donor Hepatectomy, Total Left Lobe Resection
CPT code 47141 represents a living donor hepatectomy in which the provider performs a total resection of the entire left lobe and places the graft in cold preservation for later transplant. This code captures a complex, high-acuity surgical service central to living-donor liver transplantation programs and carries significant clinical and payment implications for transplant centers nationwide. Key payers relevant to national coverage and payment patterns include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical procedure and site of service, typical payer coverage considerations, and the policy and billing contexts that affect transplant procurement claims. The publication outlines what constitutes the service, common modifiers used in practice, and how CPT code 47141 fits within transplant service lines. Data not available in the input will be noted where applicable. The guide is intended for billing managers, transplant program administrators, and policy analysts seeking a practical reference on coding, expected service settings, and payer engagement for living donor hepatectomy.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 47141 describes a donor hepatectomy, the surgical resection of the liver from a living donor in which the entire left lobe is totally resected. The excised liver segment is placed in cold preservation for transfer and is intended for implantation into a recipient in a separate procedure.
Service type: Living donor liver resection / surgical transplant procurement
Typical site of service: Inpatient operating room with subsequent donor recovery in an inpatient or transplant center setting
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 32-year-old otherwise healthy living donor volunteer undergoes preoperative evaluation and selection for a living donor left hepatectomy to provide a whole left lobe graft for a recipient with end-stage liver disease. The donor completes psychosocial assessment, blood type and crossmatch testing, liver volumetry via CT or MRI, and formal informed consent. On the day of surgery the donor is admitted to an inpatient surgical unit or transplant operating suite. Anesthesia performs general endotracheal anesthesia, invasive monitoring is placed, and prophylactic antibiotics are given. The transplant surgeon performs a donor hepatectomy, totally resecting the entire left hepatic lobe, preserving vascular and biliary structures as indicated, and places the graft in cold preservation solution. The donor is transferred to post-anesthesia care and then to an inpatient transplant unit for monitoring of liver function, bile leak, bleeding, and pain control. The recipient undergoes a separate transplantation procedure in a different operating room or at a later time using the preserved left lobe graft.
Typical site of service: inpatient hospital operating room and inpatient transplant unit. Service type: major surgical living-donor hepatectomy performed in the operating room with cold storage of the graft and inpatient postoperative care.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | Liability insurance-based payer (historical) | Rarely used; not typically applied to this procedure but present in modifier list for payer-specific situations |