Root Operation R: Replacement
The definition for the Replacement root operation provided in the 2014 ICD-10-PCS Reference Manual is “Putting in or on biological or synthetic material that physically takes the place and/or function of all or a portion of a body part.” The objective of procedures coded to the root operation Replacement is to put in a device that takes the place of some or all of a body part and includes taking out the patient’s natural body part.By explanation, the body part may have been taken out or replaced, or may be taken out, physically eradicated, or rendered nonfunctional during the Replacement procedure. A Removal procedure is coded for taking out the device used in a previous replacement procedure. Therefore two codes would be assigned if an existing prosthetic device is replaced—a Replacement code and a Removal code.
Example procedures include: right hip replacement; left hip hemiarthroplasty, partial-thickness skin autograft to right lower leg, excision of abdominal aorta with Gore-Tex graft replacement, heart valve replacement, and replacement of cornea.