Summary & Overview
CPT 47384: Irreversible Electroporation Ablation of Liver Tumor(s)
CPT code 47384 represents percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of one or more liver tumors with imaging guidance. IRE is a non-thermal, minimally invasive interventional oncology technique that delivers short, high-voltage electrical pulses to induce tumor cell death while sparing surrounding structures. Nationally, the code is significant as clinicians and payers evaluate coverage for advanced image-guided ablation modalities and their role in multidisciplinary liver tumor management.
Key payers discussed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a condensed briefing on clinical context, typical sites of service, and the scope of CPT code 47384, plus what to expect from payer coverage patterns and documentation expectations in national policy discussions. The publication also outlines related billing considerations, common adjunct service lines, and how this code fits within interventional radiology and oncology procedural workflows.
The report is intended to help billing managers, practice leaders, and policy analysts understand where CPT code 47384 sits in current procedural catalogs, the clinical rationale for its use, and the national payer landscape relevant to advanced liver tumor ablation techniques. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 47384 describes irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of one or more liver tumors via a percutaneous approach. The procedure is a minimally invasive tumor ablation technique in which a probe is inserted through the skin into the liver and delivers very short, high-voltage electrical pulses that permanently disrupt tumor cell membranes, causing cell death without thermal or cryogenic energy. Imaging guidance is included in this service.
Service type: Percutaneous image-guided tumor ablation (non-thermal, irreversible electroporation)
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center, percutaneous image-guided interventional radiology suite
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 68-year-old patient with a history of colorectal cancer presents with one to three discrete hepatic metastases identified on cross-sectional imaging. The multidisciplinary tumor board recommends percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of the liver tumors because lesions are near major bile ducts or vascular structures where thermal ablation poses higher risk. The interventional radiology team performs the procedure in an outpatient interventional suite or hospital interventional radiology operating room under moderate sedation or general anesthesia. Under real-time imaging guidance (CT or ultrasound with CT fusion), the physician inserts one or more percutaneous probes into the targeted lesions and delivers short, high-voltage electrical pulses to induce tumor cell membrane permeabilization and cell death. Peri-procedural steps include pre-procedure imaging review, informed consent, sterile preparation, probe placement under imaging, pulse delivery, immediate post-ablation imaging to assess ablation zone and detect complications, and post-procedure recovery with discharge instructions and outpatient follow-up imaging to assess efficacy and detect recurrence. Typical site of service is an outpatient interventional radiology suite or hospital-based procedure room.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | When billing is split and only the physician interpretation or service is billed separately from technical component |