CPT 62180 Ventricular‑to‑Cisterna Magna Reimbursement | OpenPayer

Summary & Overview

CPT 62180: Ventricular to Cisterna Magna Shunt Placement

CPT code 62180 identifies a neurosurgical procedure that places a shunt from a lateral ventricle to the cisterna magna to relieve cerebrospinal fluid accumulation. Nationally, this procedure is clinically significant due to its role in treating hydrocephalus and related intracranial pressure disorders, with implications for surgical resource use, hospital stays, and post-operative care.

Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of clinical context, typical sites of service, and payer coverage patterns. The publication outlines benchmarks for utilization and reimbursement where available, highlights relevant policy and coding considerations affecting claims processing, and clarifies clinical indications that commonly support billing for this procedure.

This summary is intended for health plan analysts, coding professionals, and hospital revenue cycle staff seeking a concise reference on CPT code 62180, including what the code represents, who pays for it, and what to expect in terms of clinical setting and administrative handling. Data not available in the input will be noted where appropriate.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare62180CPTneurosurgeryhydrocephalusventricular-shuntcerebrospinal-fluidoperative-procedure

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 62180 describes the surgical placement of a shunt to divert cerebrospinal fluid from a lateral ventricle to the cisterna magna. This procedure is used to treat hydrocephalus or other conditions that cause a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain ventricles.

Service type: Neurosurgical cerebrospinal fluid diversion procedure
Typical site of service: Inpatient or outpatient hospital operating room, or specialized surgical center

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 58-year-old patient presents with progressive headaches, nausea, gait instability, and cognitive slowing. Neuroimaging (CT or MRI) demonstrates communicating hydrocephalus with enlarged lateral ventricles and dilation of the ventricular system consistent with symptomatic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulation. After neurosurgical evaluation, the decision is made to perform surgical creation of a ventriculo-cisternostomy shunt with catheter placement from a lateral ventricle to the cisterna magna to divert CSF and relieve intracranial pressure.

The clinical workflow includes preoperative assessment with neurologic exam and imaging review, informed consent discussing risks (infection, hemorrhage, shunt malfunction), perioperative antibiotics, general anesthesia, neuronavigation or stereotactic guidance as needed, burr hole or small craniotomy for ventricular catheter entry, tunneling of the catheter to the posterior fossa and placement into the cisterna magna, securement of the shunt system and closure, postoperative neuroimaging to confirm catheter position, and inpatient monitoring for neurologic status and complications. Typical site of service is an inpatient hospital operating room. The service type is a neurosurgical intracranial CSF diversion procedure.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`00`	No modifier (default)	Use when no special circumstances apply.

CPT 62201: Endoscopic Ventriculocisternostomy for Hydrocephalus

CPT-62192-CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID-SHUNT-PLACEMENT-HYDROCEPHALUS

CPT 62192: Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Placement for Hydrocephalus

CPT-62225-VENTRICULAR-CATHETER-REPLACEMENT-FLUSH-CSF-DRAINAGE

CPT 62225: Ventricular Catheter Replacement or Flush for CSF Drainage

CPT-62223-VENTRICULAR-SHUNT-PLACEMENT-CSF-DIVERSION

CPT 62223: Ventricular Shunt Placement for CSF Diversion

CPT-62220-CSF-SHUNT-PLACEMENT-VENTRICULAR-DRAINAGE

CPT 62220: Ventricular to Venous CSF Shunt Placement

CPT-62252-PROGRAMMABLE-SHUNT-REPROGRAMMING-CSF-DRAINAGE

CPT 62252: Programmable Shunt Reprogramming for CSF Drainage

CPT-62256-CSF-SHUNT-REMOVAL-NO-REPLACEMENT

CPT 62256: Removal of CSF Shunt System, No Replacement

CPT-62190-CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID-SHUNT-TO-CARDIAC-OR-JUGULAR-DRAINAGE

CPT 62190: Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt to Cardiac or Jugular Drainage

CPT-62194-INTRACRANIAL-SHUNT-CATHETER-REPLACEMENT-OR-FLUSHING

CPT 62194: Intracranial Shunt Catheter Replacement or Flushing

CPT-62258-CSF-SHUNT-REMOVAL-AND-REPLACEMENT

CPT 62258: CSF Shunt Removal and Replacement

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Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207H00000X	Neurosurgery	Primary specialty performing intracranial shunt placement and CSF diversion.
2084P0800X	Neurology (Diagnostic)	Neurologists frequently perform preoperative assessment and postoperative management.
208D00000X	Critical Care Medicine	Intensivists manage perioperative and postoperative critical care for unstable patients.
363A00000X	Physician Assistant	PAs often assist in perioperative care and intraoperative assistance as allowed.
363L00000X	Nurse Practitioner	NPs participate in preoperative evaluation and postoperative follow-up.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`G91.0`	Hydrocephalus, communicating	Common indication for ventriculo-cisternostomy shunt when CSF absorption impairment causes ventricular enlargement.
`G91.2`	Hydrocephalus, postinfectious	Prior CNS infection can cause scarring and communicating hydrocephalus necessitating shunt placement.
`G91.1`	Hydrocephalus, obstructive	Obstructive hydrocephalus due to aqueductal or fourth ventricular outlet blockage may require alternative diversion such as ventriculostomy or shunt to cisterna magna.
`G93.5`	Compression of brain	Mass effect from tumor or hemorrhage causing elevated intracranial pressure and secondary hydrocephalus treated with shunting.
`I62.9`	Nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage, unspecified	Hemorrhage leading to acute hydrocephalus may prompt emergent CSF diversion to the cisterna magna.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`62180`	Placement of ventricular catheter to cisterna magna (ventriculo-cisternostomy shunt)	Primary procedure for CSF diversion from lateral ventricle to cisterna magna.
`61840`	Craniectomy or craniotomy for evacuation of intracranial hematoma; supratentorial	May be performed prior to or concurrent with shunt placement if intracranial hemorrhage is present and requires evacuation.
`61520`	Craniectomy or craniotomy for tumor, supratentorial; biopsy or partial resection	Performed when a mass lesion is the cause of obstructive hydrocephalus and tumor management is required during the same hospitalization.
`62223`	Injection procedure for diagnostic or therapeutic myelography, lumbar puncture, or cisternal puncture	Diagnostic cisternal access procedures or CSF sampling that may precede definitive shunt placement.
`62230`	Subarachnoid or cisternal puncture, diagnostic or therapeutic	Related diagnostic/therapeutic access to the cisterna magna that can inform need for shunting.
`99600`	Not a standard CPT code for surgery (placeholder)	Data not available in the input.

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