Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial AND lateral, including any meniscal shaving)
💬 Plain Language Explanation
What this means
This is knee arthroscopy with debridement - a minimally invasive procedure where a doctor uses a small camera to look inside your knee and clean up damaged tissue.
Why you might see this
This is a common orthopedic procedure. You might see this if you had knee surgery to remove damaged tissue, bone spurs, or loose fragments from your knee joint.
Common context
Common minimally invasive knee surgery for cleaning up damaged tissue or loose fragments in the knee joint.
What to ask your provider
"'What was cleaned up in my knee? What's my recovery timeline?'"
Relative Value Units (RVUs)
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Clinical Information
When to Use
For surgical knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy of medial AND lateral menisci
Common Scenarios
Documentation Requirements
- Indication for meniscectomy
- Location and type of meniscal tears
- Extent of meniscectomy
- Medial and lateral meniscal findings
- Any complications
Coding Guidelines
Common Modifiers
Bundling Rules
- Includes surgical arthroscopy
- Includes meniscectomy of medial AND lateral menisci
- Includes meniscal shaving
- Diagnostic arthroscopy bundled when performed same session
- Meniscectomy repair coded separately
Exclusions
- 29881 (arthroscopy, knee, surgical; meniscectomy, medial OR lateral)
- 29882 (arthroscopy, knee, surgical; meniscus repair, medial OR lateral)
- 29883 (arthroscopy, knee, surgical; meniscus repair, medial AND lateral)
- 29870 (arthroscopy, knee, diagnostic)
Coding Notes
Clinical scenarios
- Indication for meniscectomy
- Location and type of meniscal tears
- Extent of meniscectomy
- Indication for meniscectomy
- Location and type of meniscal tears
- Extent of meniscectomy
- Indication for meniscectomy
- Location and type of meniscal tears
- Extent of meniscectomy
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Code Details
Medicare Pricing
PFSRVU Breakdown
OPPS Details
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Ask a QuestionFrequently Asked Questions
CPT 29880 is the billing code for "Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial AND lateral, including any meniscal shaving)". For surgical knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy of medial AND lateral menisci
Medicare pays approximately $558.30 for CPT 29880 (national average). Actual payment varies by geographic location due to GPCI adjustments. Hospital and commercial insurance rates are typically 2-4x higher than Medicare rates.
CPT 29880 has a total RVU of 28.95, broken down as: Work RVU 12.50, Practice Expense RVU 15.20, and Malpractice RVU 1.25. RVUs (Relative Value Units) determine Medicare reimbursement rates.
Key documentation requirements for CPT 29880 include: Indication for meniscectomy; Location and type of meniscal tears; Extent of meniscectomy; Medial and lateral meniscal findings. Missing or incomplete documentation is a leading cause of claim denials for this code.
Bundling considerations for CPT 29880: Includes surgical arthroscopy. Includes meniscectomy of medial AND lateral menisci Use an NCCI bundling checker to verify specific code combinations before billing.
Common modifiers for CPT 29880 include: 50 (Bilateral procedure when both knees performed same session), 51 (Multiple procedures performed same session), 22 (Increased procedural services for extensive meniscectomy). Modifiers indicate special circumstances and can affect reimbursement or prevent claim denials.
The typical time requirement for CPT 29880 is 60-90 minutes typical operative time. Time-based codes require documentation of the actual time spent providing the service.