Summary & Overview
HCPCS C1758: Ureteral Catheter, Urological Device
HCPCS Level II code C1758 designates a ureteral catheter, a urological device used to access or drain the ureter during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. This code matters nationally because ureteral catheters are commonly used across inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory surgical settings for conditions such as obstruction, stone management, and perioperative urinary drainage. Facility and professional billing for these devices influences procedural costs, device utilization reporting, and payer coverage determinations.
Key payers discussed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical use and site-of-service considerations, a national perspective on payer coverage relevance, and guidance on where the code fits in billing workflows. Where available, benchmarks on utilization and payment are presented alongside notes about coding context and common modifiers.
This publication provides clinical context for the device, clarifies typical service settings, and identifies the payers most commonly involved in coverage and reimbursement. Data not available in the input are noted explicitly where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code C1758 represents a ureteral catheter. This device is used to access, drain, or stent the ureter to facilitate urine flow from the kidney to the bladder or to provide temporary urinary diversion. The service type is urological device supply and the typical site of service is hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, or ambulatory surgical center depending on the clinical setting and procedure.
Data not available in the input.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A patient presents with flank pain, hematuria, or obstructive hydronephrosis and imaging suggests ureteral obstruction or ureteral stone. In the interventional urology workflow, a urologist or interventional radiologist performs cystoscopy and retrograde ureteral catheterization or places a ureteral stent for drainage. The procedure uses a C1758 ureteral catheter to access the ureteral lumen for contrast injection, guidewire passage, selective drainage, or as part of temporary internal stenting. Typical sites of service include the hospital operating room, ambulatory surgery center, or radiology suite. The typical patient is an adult with acute obstructive uropathy, ureteral calculi, strictures, or postoperative ureteral leak requiring diagnostic or therapeutic ureteral access. Peri-procedural steps include informed consent, sedation or general anesthesia per patient and site policy, cystoscopic access, ureteral catheter placement under direct vision or fluoroscopy, contrast study if indicated, and either removal, exchange, or placement of an indwelling ureteral stent or catheter for ongoing drainage. Recovery and follow-up instructions address signs of infection, hematuria, and the plan for stent removal or definitive management.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | No modifier | General practice when no modifier applies |