Medical Billing · Nationwide
Cardiothoracic Surgery & Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Medical Billing Services
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG arterial/venous combos), endoscopic vein harvest (+33508), complex valvular repairs/replacements, VA/VV ECMO initiation & daily cannula management, and aortic root reconstructions.
Aethera Healthcare Solutions provides full-service medical billing and revenue cycle management to cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiovascular surgical practices, and thoracic aortic institutes across the United States. We handle coding, claims, payment posting, denial management, and A/R follow-up end to end — so your team can stay focused on patient care while your revenue cycle runs cleanly.
Typical cardiothoracic surgery & extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ecmo) CPT range we work: 33533–33536, 33517–33523, 33405–33430, 33946–33989, 33967, 33968, 33508, 32663, 32666.
Why cardiothoracic surgery & extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ecmo) billing leaks revenue
CABG arterial-venous graft combination unbundling: Payers erroneously denying venous graft add-on codes (+33517–+33523) when billed alongside primary internal mammary arterial bypass (33533–33536)
ECMO/ECLS initiation vs cannula insertion bundling edits: Rejection of surgical cutdown cannulation (33951–33956) or unbundled daily physician ECMO management (33948/33949) during open cardiopulmonary bypass procedures
Endoscopic vein harvest (+33508) denial disputes: Commercial payers inappropriately bundling endoscopic saphenous vein harvest (+33508) into open CABG primary codes in violation of CPT parenthetical instructions
Concomitant valve and bypass global surgical reductions: Inappropriate 50% multiple procedure reductions applied to distinct sternotomy valve replacements (33405/33430) performed with coronary bypass without proper modifier sequencing
How Aethera fixes it
Specialty-trained coders (CPC/CCS) code to the documentation
First-pass claim scrubbing against payer and NCCI edits
Proactive denial prevention and 72-hour denial work
Relentless A/R follow-up to drive days-in-A/R down
Eligibility and prior-auth verification before service
Transparent, real-time reporting in the provider portal
Free tools for your billing team
Use these any time — no login required.
Cardiothoracic Surgery & Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) billing FAQ
How are combined arterial and venous coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) properly coded?
When a surgeon utilizes both arterial (e.g. internal mammary artery) and venous grafts (e.g. saphenous vein), the primary arterial code (33533 for single, 33534 for two, 33535 for three, 33536 for four or more) must be reported as the primary base code. Venous grafts are reported using the secondary add-on codes (+33517–+33523) depending on the number of venous anastomoses. Add-on venous graft codes are modifier -51 exempt and must never be billed with standalone venous graft codes (33510–33516) on the same claim.
Can extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cannulation be billed separately from initiation?
CPT codes 33946 (initiation, veno-venous) and 33947 (initiation, veno-arterial) include the overall technical management and hemodynamic stabilization during circuit initiation. However, surgical cannula insertion via open cutdown or percutaneous approach (33951–33964) is separately reportable when performed by the surgical team, provided operative documentation details site selection, vessel size, cannula placement, and circuit priming.