Complication: Back to OR

Question:

Can we bill separately for taking a patient back to the OR on postoperative day 2 to explore and repair a postoperative hemorrhage? I’ve heard that complications like this are usually included in the payment for the original surgery.

Answer:

Yes, you can bill for this. Both CPT and Medicare guidelines allow separate billing when a patient returns to the OR to treat a complication.

In this case, report the procedure code(s) for the services performed to address the postoperative hemorrhage. Be sure to append modifier 78 to indicate an unplanned return to the OR and assign the appropriate ICD-10 code for postoperative hemorrhage.

Thank you for reaching out to KZA regarding your inquiry.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 12/18/25.