CPT 50760 Ureteroureterostomy Reimbursement | OpenPayer

Summary & Overview

CPT 50760: Ureteral Excision and Reanastomosis (Ureteroureterostomy)

CPT code 50760 denotes excision of a blocked or injured ureteral segment with reanastomosis of the healthy ureteral ends, a reconstructive urologic procedure used to relieve obstruction or repair injury. Nationally, this code is clinically important because it captures definitive surgical management of ureteral obstruction and iatrogenic or traumatic ureteral injury, procedures that have implications for hospital surgical volumes, perioperative resource use, and specialty reimbursement.

Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise clinical context for the procedure, payer coverage patterns and benchmarks where available, common modifier usage, and coding notes that affect claim adjudication. The publication highlights typical settings for service delivery—hospital inpatient, outpatient surgery, and ambulatory surgery centers—and summarizes how the code relates to broader urologic service lines.

This resource is intended for billing managers, coding professionals, and policy analysts who need a clear overview of CPT code 50760, associated documentation considerations, and areas where payer policy or coding practice can affect billing and reimbursement. Data not available in the input is noted where specific benchmarking or diagnosis linkage would normally appear.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare50760CPTureteral reconstructionurologysurgical procedureureteroureterostomyoperative codingambulatory surgery

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 50760 describes a surgical procedure in which the provider excises a blocked or injured segment of the ureter and then rejoins the two healthy ends (ureteroureterostomy). This reconstructive urologic surgery is performed to remove obstruction or repair ureteral injury.

Service type: Surgical procedure — ureteral reconstruction
Typical site of service: Hospital inpatient or outpatient surgical setting, or ambulatory surgery center, depending on clinical complexity and perioperative needs

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A typical patient is an adult (often aged 30–70) presenting with unilateral flank pain, recurrent urinary tract infections, hematuria, or obstructive uropathy caused by a localized ureteral stricture, stone impaction with ureteral injury, or traumatic segmental ureteral loss. Diagnostic workup includes urinalysis, urine culture, serum creatinine, CT urogram or intravenous pyelogram, and retrograde pyelography. Patients with a discrete diseased ureteral segment that is resectable are scheduled for operative management.

The clinical workflow: preoperative evaluation and imaging confirm a short segment ureteral obstruction. The patient is optimized medically, consented for ureteral resection with primary ureteroureterostomy (50760) under general anesthesia. Intraoperatively, the surgeon exposes the ureter, excises the affected segment, performs spatulated end-to-end anastomosis with absorbable sutures, and places a ureteral stent when indicated. The specimen (if any) is sent to pathology. Postoperatively, patients are monitored for urine leak, infection, and renal function; stent removal typically occurs 4–6 weeks later. Typical site of service is an operating room in an acute care hospital or ambulatory surgical center depending on patient complexity and anesthesia needs. Service type: surgical, genitourinary reconstructive procedure.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`

CPT 50722: Ureteral Decompression for Ovarian Vein Compression

CPT-50800-URETEROCOLONIC-ANASTOMOSIS-URINARY-DIVERSION

CPT 50800: Ureterocolonic Anastomosis for Urinary Diversion

CPT-50930-URETEROVISCERAL-FISTULA-EXCISION-AND-REPAIR

CPT 50930: Excision of Ureterovisceral Fistula and Repair

CPT-50825-URINARY-DIVERSION-INTESTINAL-POUCH-RESERVOIR

CPT 50825: Urinary Diversion with Intestinal Pouch or Reservoir

CPT-50783-URETERAL-REIMPLANTATION-EXTENSIVE-RECONSTRUCTION

CPT 50783: Ureteral Reimplantation with Extensive Reconstruction

CPT-50715-URETEROLYSIS-LYSIS-OF-RETROPERITONEAL-ADHESIONS

CPT 50715: Ureterolysis for Retroperitoneal Adhesions

CPT-50740-URETERAL-RESECTION-REATTACHMENT-TO-RENAL-PELVIS

CPT 50740: Excision of Occluded Ureter Segment with Reattachment to Renal Pelvis

CPT-50840-URETERAL-REPLACEMENT-WITH-INTESTINAL-SEGMENT

CPT 50840: Ureteral Replacement with Intestinal Segment

CPT-50900-URETERAL-REPAIR-SURGICAL-REPAIR-OF-URETERAL-WALL

CPT 50900: Ureteral Wall Repair to Restore Lumen Patency

CPT-50785-URETERAL-REIMPLANTATION

CPT 50785: Ureteral Reimplantation to Bladder

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Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2080S0002X	Urology	Urologists most commonly perform ureteroureterostomy procedures.
2086P0220X	General Surgery	General surgeons with urologic or reconstructive experience may perform this procedure in some settings.
207C00000X	Colon & Rectal Surgery	Complex reconstructive surgeons or specialty pelvic surgeons may be involved when pelvic anatomy or prior surgery complicates exposure.
207K00000X	Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine	Limited relevance; included to round common surgical taxonomies (rarely primary for this procedure).

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`N13.5`	Unspecified hydronephrosis	Hydronephrosis from ureteral obstruction may be an indication for excision of a narrowed ureteral segment and anastomosis.
`N13.8`	Other obstructive and reflux uropathy	Captures other obstructive processes of the ureter that can require segmental resection and reconnection.
`N13.2`	Hydronephrosis with ureteral stricture	Directly relevant when a short ureteral stricture causes obstructive uropathy necessitating `50760`.
`N20.0`	Calculus of kidney	Stones that cause ureteral injury or recurrent obstruction may lead to definitive surgical repair.
`S37.01`	Injury of ureter, initial encounter	Traumatic ureteral injury with segmental loss or devascularization may require resection and ureteroureterostomy.
`N10`	Acute pyelonephritis	Recurrent infection secondary to obstructing ureteral pathology can prompt surgical correction after infection is controlled.
`N28.2`	Disorder resulting from impaired renal tubular function	Chronic obstructive uropathy complications may be coded when renal impairment is present due to ureteral obstruction.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`52000`	Cystourethroscopy, with or without irrigation and/or ureteral catheterization, with or without collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing	Often performed preoperatively or intraoperatively to evaluate bladder and ureteral orifice; may be used to place a ureteral stent prior to or after `50760`.
`52204`	Cystourethroscopy, with ureteroscopy, with removal of foreign body or calculus	Performed when ureteroscopic evaluation or stone removal is required in the same setting or preceding definitive open repair.
`50590`	Lithotripsy, extracorporeal shock wave (ESWL)	May be part of prior management for obstructing calculi that resulted in ureteral injury or stricture leading to reconstruction.
`53860`	Ureteral stent procedure, including removal when performed same session	Placement of a ureteral stent at the time of ureteral repair is common to splint the anastomosis.
`49930`	Exploratory laparotomy, exploratory celiotomy with or without biopsy(s)	May be performed when abdominal exploration is needed to access the ureter or address concomitant pathology.
`44180`	Enterolysis (separate procedure), for example, free adhesions of small bowel	Performed when dense adhesions complicate access to the ureter and require lysis prior to repair.

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