Summary & Overview
CPT 57550: Vaginal Excision of Cervical Stump
CPT code 57550 denotes the surgical excision of the cervical stump remaining after a prior subtotal hysterectomy, performed through a vaginal approach. This code captures a focused gynecologic procedure used to address symptoms or pathology related to the retained cervix and is relevant to surgical, outpatient, and inpatient billing workflows nationwide. It matters nationally because it affects coding specificity for postoperative management, procedural documentation, and payer adjudication for gynecologic surgical services.
Key payers in scope include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise clinical context for when CPT code 57550 is used, typical sites of service, and the service type. The publication also provides benchmarks and policy considerations readers typically expect for surgical gynecology codes, such as common billing modifiers and payer considerations, and flags where input data was not provided.
This summary equips revenue cycle managers, coding professionals, and clinical leaders with a focused description of CPT code 57550, highlights payer relevance, and outlines the types of content covered in the full publication: coding guidance, comparative benchmarks, and clinical context for appropriate claim submission and reimbursement review at a national level.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 57550 describes the excision of the cervical stump remaining after a prior subtotal hysterectomy. The procedure is performed via a vaginal approach to remove the residual cervix that was intentionally left at the time of the original subtotal hysterectomy.
Service type: Surgical procedure — gynecologic/vaginal excision of cervical stump
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center or inpatient hospital when medically indicated; performed via the vagina
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, related codes, and specific payer coverage details.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 46-year-old woman with a prior subtotal (supracervical) abdominal hysterectomy presents with postcoital spotting and persistent vaginal discharge. Pelvic examination and cervical cytology identify an abnormal lesion involving the remaining cervical stump. After counseling and preoperative evaluation, the patient is scheduled for a vaginal trachelectomy (excision of the cervical stump) to remove symptomatic or pathologic cervical tissue. The clinical workflow includes preoperative consent, anesthesia evaluation (usually general or regional), intraoperative vaginal approach with dissection and removal of the cervical stump, hemostasis, possible cystoscopy if bladder/ureter proximity is a concern, specimen submission to pathology, and postoperative recovery and follow-up for wound healing and pathology results. Typical indications include symptomatic residual cervical tissue, dysplasia not amenable to conservative treatment, or benign cervical pathology after a prior subtotal hysterectomy.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | No modifier | Routine reporting when no modifier applies |
| 22 | Increased procedural services | Use when work required is substantially greater than typical for 57550 |
| | Reduced services | Use when the procedure is partially reduced or not completed as originally planned |