CPT 47900 Extrahepatic Bile Duct Repair Reimbursement | OpenPayer

Summary & Overview

CPT 47900: Repair of Extrahepatic Biliary Duct, Suture

CPT code 47900 represents surgical repair of an injury to the extrahepatic biliary duct and is used to bill for operative suture repair of bile duct injuries occurring outside the liver. This code is clinically significant because bile duct injuries can lead to serious complications, prolonged hospital stays, and additional interventions; accurate coding supports appropriate clinical tracking and payment for complex hepatobiliary surgery. Key national payers commonly involved in coverage decisions for this service include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.

Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for CPT code 47900, including service setting and typical procedural considerations. The publication provides benchmark information on utilization and payment patterns where available, notes of relevant policy updates affecting surgical billing and preauthorization practices, and guidance on coding interoperability with related hepatobiliary procedures. The content is designed for billing managers, surgical clinicians, and policy analysts seeking clear, national-level information about how this code is used and reimbursed across major payers. Data not available in the input will be identified as such in detailed sections.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicareCPT 47900extrahepatic biliary ductbile duct repairhepatobiliary surgerysurgical codingoperating roomambulatory surgeryprocedure coding

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 47900 describes surgical repair of an injury to the extrahepatic biliary duct using sutures. This procedure involves direct operative repair of the bile duct segment located outside the liver.

Service type: Surgical repair of extrahepatic biliary duct injury
Typical site of service: Hospital operating room or ambulatory surgical center

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 48-year-old patient presents after abdominal trauma during a motor vehicle collision with right upper quadrant pain, jaundice, and bile leak on imaging. Diagnostic workup including CT and ultrasound suggests injury to the extrahepatic biliary duct. The patient is taken to the operating room for exploratory laparotomy. The hepatobiliary surgeon identifies a laceration of the common bile duct outside the liver. The provider performs primary repair using interrupted absorbable sutures to approximate the duct edges, ensures patency with intraoperative cholangiography, places a T-tube or internal stent if indicated, and confirms hemostasis before closure. The intraoperative documentation includes time of repair, suture type and size, use of magnification, cholangiogram results, and any additional procedures such as T-tube placement or drainage tube insertion. Postoperative management includes monitoring for bile leak, serial liver function tests, and imaging as indicated. Typical site of service is an inpatient operating room; service type is open surgical biliary duct repair.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the repair required substantially greater work than usual due to extensive dissection or adhesions.
`23`

Related Codes

CPT-47801-BILIARY-STENT-INSERTION

CPT 47801: Insertion of Biliary Stent

CPT-47780-BILIARY-ENTERIC-ANASTOMOSIS-BYPASS

CPT 47780: Biliary-Enteric Anastomosis to Restore Bile Flow

CPT-47760-BILIARY-ENTERIC-BYPASS-FOR-BILIARY-OBSTRUCTION

CPT 47760: Biliary-Enteric Bypass for Biliary Obstruction

CPT-47720-BILIARY-ENTERIC-ANASTOMOSIS-GALLBLADDER-TO-SMALL-INTESTINE

CPT 47720: Biliary-Enteric Anastomosis (Gallbladder to Small Intestine)

CPT-47800-EXTRAHEPATIC-BILIARY-DUCT-RECONSTRUCTION

CPT 47800: Reconstruction of Extrahepatic Biliary Ducts

CPT-47741-BILIARY-AND-GASTROENTERIC-BYPASS-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 47741: Combined Biliary and Gastroenteric Bypass Anastomosis

CPT-47765-BILIARY-ENTERIC-ANASTOMOSIS-SURGICAL-DRAINAGE

CPT 47765: Biliary-Enteric Anastomosis, Surgical Biliary Drainage

CPT-47785-JEJUNUM-TO-INTRAHEPATIC-BILIARY-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 47785: Jejunum to Intrahepatic Biliary Duct Anastomosis

CPT-47721-BILIARY-AND-GASTRIC-BYPASS-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 47721: Biliary and Gastric Bypass (Anastomoses)

CPT-47740-CHOLECYSTOENTEROSTOMY-BILIARY-BYPASS

CPT 47740: Cholecystoenterostomy (Biliary Bypass)

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207RP0000X	General Surgery	Most common specialty performing open biliary duct repairs.
207L00000X	Vascular Surgery	May be involved when complex ductal reconstruction intersects major vascular structures.
207RK0101X	Hepatobiliary Surgery	Subspecialty focus on liver and biliary tract repairs and reconstructions.
2084P0800X	Trauma Surgery	Performs repairs in the setting of traumatic injury to the biliary tract.
163W00000X	Gastroenterology	May be involved intraoperatively for cholangiography or endoscopic stent placement adjuncts.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`K83.2`	Obstruction of bile duct	Obstructive lesions may require surgical repair if caused or associated with ductal injury.
`S36.219A`	Laceration of other intra-abdominal organs, initial encounter	Traumatic injury that may include extrahepatic biliary duct laceration necessitating repair.
`K91.84`	Bile leak	Direct indication for surgical repair when persistent leak from extrahepatic biliary duct is identified.
`T81.31XA`	Disruption of operations wound, initial encounter	Used when postoperative bile duct disruption or wound failure leads to reoperation and repair.
`K80.2`	Calculus of gallbladder with acute cholecystitis	Gallbladder disease can be associated with iatrogenic duct injury during cholecystectomy prompting repair.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`47562`	Laparoscopic cholecystectomy with cholangiography	May be performed before or instead of open repair if injury discovered during lap chole and conversion is considered.
`47563`	Laparoscopic cholecystectomy with exploration of common duct	Related when duct exploration is required to remove stones or evaluate injury intraluminally.
`47579`	Laparoscopic repair of bile duct injury	Minimally invasive alternative approach for select ductal repairs.
`47580`	Open repair of bile duct injury	Closely related; open approaches for more extensive injuries or when `47900` specifies repair of extrahepatic ducts.
`74328`	Fluoroscopic guidance for cholangiography, intraoperative	Used during `47900` when intraoperative cholangiography is performed to evaluate duct integrity.
`49900`	Exploratory laparotomy, exploratory procedure	May be performed immediately prior to identification and repair of the extrahepatic biliary duct in trauma or unclear abdominal pathology.