CPT modifier 58 – taged Procedure or Service by the Same Physician During the Postoperative Period

58 Staged Procedure or Service by the Same Physician During the Postoperative Period:

The physician may need to indicate that the performance of a procedure or service during the postoperative period was (a) planned prospectively at the time of the original procedure; (b) more extensive than the original procedure; or (c) for therapy following a diagnostic surgical procedure. These circumstance may be reported by adding the modifier 58 to the staged procedure. A new postoperative period begins when the next procedure in the series is billed.

Note: This modifier is not used to report the treatment of a problem that requires a return to the operating room. (See modifier 78)

It would not be appropriate to report this modifier for codes which indicate in the terminology “one or more sessions”, e.g., 66761, 67141, 67227. These codes are defined by CPT-4 as consisting of one or more sessions. The relative value units represent the work for the total number of sessions necessary for completion of the procedure. Therefore, subsequent sessions performed within the global period of the initial surgery are included in the global fee.