Need help choosing the right code?
Ask CasePilot about procedures, modifiers, bundling, and coding guidance.
Try CasePilot© Copyright 2026 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
The procedure described by CPT® Code 97597 involves the debridement of an open wound, which is a critical step in wound management. Debridement is the process of removing dead, damaged, or infected tissue to promote healing and prevent infection. In this context, the procedure can utilize various methods, including high-pressure waterjet systems or sharp instruments such as scissors, scalpels, and forceps. The primary goal is to eliminate non-viable tissue, which may include fibrin, devitalized epidermis and/or dermis, exudate, debris, and biofilm, all of which can impede the healing process. Before the debridement, a thorough assessment of the wound is conducted to evaluate its size, depth, and any signs of inflammation, ulceration, or necrosis. A whirlpool may be employed to cleanse the wound and prepare it for debridement. The high-pressure waterjet system is particularly effective as it combines the force of water with suction to simultaneously cut and aspirate the target tissue, ensuring a more efficient removal of unwanted material. Following the debridement, topical agents may be applied to facilitate healing, and appropriate dressings are used to protect the wound. Additionally, instructions are provided to the patient or caregiver regarding ongoing care, including how to change dressings and monitor the wound for any changes. This procedure is billed per session for the first 20 square centimeters of the wound surface area, with additional charges applicable for larger areas as indicated by CPT® Code 97598.
© Copyright 2026 Coding Ahead. All rights reserved.
The procedure described by CPT® Code 97597 is indicated for the management of open wounds that exhibit specific characteristics requiring debridement. These indications include:
The procedure for debridement as outlined in CPT® Code 97597 involves several critical steps to ensure effective treatment of the open wound. These steps include:
Post-procedure care following the debridement is essential for optimal healing. Patients are advised to follow the instructions provided regarding dressing changes, which should be done regularly to maintain a clean and moist wound environment. Monitoring the wound for any signs of infection, such as increased redness, swelling, or discharge, is crucial. Patients should also be aware of any changes in pain levels or other symptoms that may indicate complications. Follow-up appointments may be necessary to assess the healing progress and determine if additional debridement or interventions are required. Overall, adherence to post-procedure care instructions is vital for successful wound healing.
| Short Descr | DBRDMT OPN WND 1ST 20 CM/< | Medium Descr | DEBRIDEMENT OPEN WOUND FIRST 20 SQ CM/< | Long Descr | Debridement (eg, high pressure waterjet with/without suction, sharp selective debridement with scissors, scalpel and forceps), open wound, (eg, fibrin, devitalized epidermis and/or dermis, exudate, debris, biofilm), including topical application(s), wound assessment, use of a whirlpool, when performed and instruction(s) for ongoing care, per session, total wound(s) surface area; first 20 sq cm or less | Status Code | Active Code | Global Days | 000 - Endoscopic or Minor Procedure | PC/TC Indicator (26, TC) | 0 - Physician Service Code | Multiple Procedures (51) | 0 - No payment adjustment rules for multiple procedures apply. | Bilateral Surgery (50) | 0 - 150% payment adjustment for bilateral procedures does NOT apply. | Physician Supervisions | 09 - Concept does not apply. | Assistant Surgeon (80, 82) | 0 - Payment restriction for assistants at surgery applies to this procedure... | Co-Surgeons (62) | 0 - Co-surgeons not permitted for this procedure. | Team Surgery (66) | 0 - Team surgeons not permitted for this procedure. | Diagnostic Imaging Family | 99 - Concept Does Not Apply | APC Status Indicator | Procedure or Service, Multiple Reduction Applies | Type of Service (TOS) | 1 - Medical Care | Berenson-Eggers TOS (BETOS) | P6C - Minor procedures - other (Medicare fee schedule) | MUE | 1 | CCS Clinical Classification | 214 - Traction, splints, and other wound care |
This is a primary code that can be used with these additional add-on codes.
| 97598 | Addon Code MPFS Status: Active Code APC N PUB 100 CPT Assistant Article Debridement (eg, high pressure waterjet with/without suction, sharp selective debridement with scissors, scalpel and forceps), open wound, (eg, fibrin, devitalized epidermis and/or dermis, exudate, debris, biofilm), including topical application(s), wound assessment, use of a whirlpool, when performed and instruction(s) for ongoing care, per session, total wound(s) surface area; each additional 20 sq cm, or part thereof (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) |
| 59 | Distinct procedural service: under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to indicate that a procedure or service was distinct or independent from other non-e/m services performed on the same day. modifier 59 is used to identify procedures/services, other than e/m services, that are not normally reported together, but are appropriate under the circumstances. documentation must support a different session, different procedure or surgery, different site or organ system, separate incision/excision, separate lesion, or separate injury (or area of injury in extensive injuries) not ordinarily encountered or performed on the same day by the same individual. however, when another already established modifier is appropriate it should be used rather than modifier 59. only if no more descriptive modifier is available, and the use of modifier 59 best explains the circumstances, should modifier 59 be used. note: modifier 59 should not be appended to an e/m service. to report a separate and distinct e/m service with a non-e/m service performed on the same date, see modifier 25. | GP | Services delivered under an outpatient physical therapy plan of care | RT | Right side (used to identify procedures performed on the right side of the body) | LT | Left side (used to identify procedures performed on the left side of the body) | GW | Service not related to the hospice patient's terminal condition | XS | Separate structure, a service that is distinct because it was performed on a separate organ/structure | KX | Requirements specified in the medical policy have been met | 79 | Unrelated procedure or service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional during the postoperative period: the individual may need to indicate that the performance of a procedure or service during the postoperative period was unrelated to the original procedure. this circumstance may be reported by using modifier 79. (for repeat procedures on the same day, see modifier 76.) | GO | Services delivered under an outpatient occupational therapy plan of care | 58 | Staged or related procedure or service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional during the postoperative period: it may be necessary to indicate that the performance of a procedure or service during the postoperative period was: (a) planned or anticipated (staged); (b) more extensive than the original procedure; or (c) for therapy following a surgical procedure. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 58 to the staged or related procedure. note: for treatment of a problem that requires a return to the operating/procedure room (eg, unanticipated clinical condition), see modifier 78. | XU | Unusual non-overlapping service, the use of a service that is distinct because it does not overlap usual components of the main service | TA | Left foot, great toe | PO | Excepted service provided at an off-campus, outpatient, provider-based department of a hospital | T5 | Right foot, great toe | CO | Outpatient occupational therapy services furnished in whole or in part by an occupational therapy assistant | GC | This service has been performed in part by a resident under the direction of a teaching physician | T1 | Left foot, second digit | GV | Attending physician not employed or paid under arrangement by the patient's hospice provider | T6 | Right foot, second digit | X5 | Diagnostic services requested by another clinician: for reporting services by a clinician who furnishes care to the patient only as requested by another clinician or subsequent and related services requested by another clinician; this modifier is reported for patient relationships that may not be adequately captured by the above alternative categories; reporting clinician service examples include but are not limited to, the radiologist's interpretation of an imaging study requested by another clinician | CQ | Outpatient physical therapy services furnished in whole or in part by a physical therapist assistant | GY | Item or service statutorily excluded, does not meet the definition of any medicare benefit or, for non-medicare insurers, is not a contract benefit | T7 | Right foot, third digit | T9 | Right foot, fifth digit | GA | Waiver of liability statement issued as required by payer policy, individual case | XE | Separate encounter, a service that is distinct because it occurred during a separate encounter | 78 | Unplanned return to the operating/procedure room by the same physician or other qualified health care professional following initial procedure for a related procedure during the postoperative period: it may be necessary to indicate that another procedure was performed during the postoperative period of the initial procedure (unplanned procedure following initial procedure). when this procedure is related to the first, and requires the use of an operating/procedure room, it may be reported by adding modifier 78 to the related procedure. (for repeat procedures, see modifier 76.) | GF | Non-physician (e.g. nurse practitioner (np), certified registered nurse anesthetist (crna), certified registered nurse (crn), clinical nurse specialist (cns), physician assistant (pa)) services in a critical access hospital | T2 | Left foot, third digit | GZ | Item or service expected to be denied as not reasonable and necessary | AF | Specialty physician | T4 | Left foot, fifth digit | T8 | Right foot, fourth digit | 25 | Significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional on the same day of the procedure or other service: it may be necessary to indicate that on the day a procedure or service identified by a cpt code was performed, the patient's condition required a significant, separately identifiable e/m service above and beyond the other service provided or beyond the usual preoperative and postoperative care associated with the procedure that was performed. a significant, separately identifiable e/m service is defined or substantiated by documentation that satisfies the relevant criteria for the respective e/m service to be reported (see evaluation and management services guidelines for instructions on determining level of e/m service). the e/m service may be prompted by the symptom or condition for which the procedure and/or service was provided. as such, different diagnoses are not required for reporting of the e/m services on the same date. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 25 to the appropriate level of e/m service. note: this modifier is not used to report an e/m service that resulted in a decision to perform surgery. see modifier 57 for significant, separately identifiable non-e/m services, see modifier 59. | CR | Catastrophe/disaster related | AQ | Physician providing a service in an unlisted health professional shortage area (hpsa) | SA | Nurse practitioner rendering service in collaboration with a physician | T3 | Left foot, fourth digit | GN | Services delivered under an outpatient speech language pathology plan of care | 77 | Repeat procedure by another physician or other qualified health care professional: it may be necessary to indicate that a basic procedure or service was repeated by another physician or other qualified health care professional subsequent to the original procedure or service. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 77 to the repeated procedure or service. note: this modifier should not be appended to an e/m service. | X4 | Episodic/focused services: for reporting services by clinicians who provide focused care on particular types of treatment limited to a defined period and circumstance; the patient has a problem, acute or chronic, that will be treated with surgery, radiation, or some other type of generally time-limited intervention; reporting clinician service examples include but are not limited to, the orthopedic surgeon performing a knee replacement and seeing the patient through the postoperative period | 51 | Multiple procedures: when multiple procedures, other than e/m services, physical medicine and rehabilitation services or provision of supplies (eg, vaccines), are performed at the same session by the same individual, the primary procedure or service may be reported as listed. the additional procedure(s) or service(s) may be identified by appending modifier 51 to the additional procedure or service code(s). note: this modifier should not be appended to designated "add-on" codes (see appendix d). | Q6 | Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area | Q8 | Two class b findings | Q9 | One class b and two class c findings | X3 | Episodic/broad services: for reporting services by clinicians who have broad responsibility for the comprehensive needs of the patient that is limited to a defined period and circumstance such as a hospitalization; reporting clinician service examples include but are not limited to the hospitalist's services rendered providing comprehensive and general care to a patient while admitted to the hospital | XP | Separate practitioner, a service that is distinct because it was performed by a different practitioner | 22 | Increased procedural services: when the work required to provide a service is substantially greater than typically required, it may be identified by adding modifier 22 to the usual procedure code. documentation must support the substantial additional work and the reason for the additional work (ie, increased intensity, time, technical difficulty of procedure, severity of patient's condition, physical and mental effort required). note: this modifier should not be appended to an e/m service. | 24 | Unrelated evaluation and management service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional during a postoperative period: the physician or other qualified health care professional may need to indicate that an evaluation and management service was performed during a postoperative period for a reason(s) unrelated to the original procedure. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 24 to the appropriate level of e/m service. | 26 | Professional component: certain procedures are a combination of a physician or other qualified health care professional component and a technical component. when the physician or other qualified health care professional component is reported separately, the service may be identified by adding modifier 26 to the usual procedure number. | 32 | Mandated services: services related to mandated consultation and/or related services (eg, third party payer, governmental, legislative or regulatory requirement) may be identified by adding modifier 32 to the basic procedure. | 52 | Reduced services: under certain circumstances a service or procedure is partially reduced or eliminated at the discretion of the physician or other qualified health care professional. under these circumstances the service provided can be identified by its usual procedure number and the addition of modifier 52, signifying that the service is reduced. this provides a means of reporting reduced services without disturbing the identification of the basic service. note: for hospital outpatient reporting of a previously scheduled procedure/service that is partially reduced or cancelled as a result of extenuating circumstances or those that threaten the well-being of the patient prior to or after administration of anesthesia, see modifiers 73 and 74 (see modifiers approved for asc hospital outpatient use). | 53 | Discontinued procedure: under certain circumstances, the physician or other qualified health care professional may elect to terminate a surgical or diagnostic procedure. due to extenuating circumstances or those that threaten the well being of the patient, it may be necessary to indicate that a surgical or diagnostic procedure was started but discontinued. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 53 to the code reported by the individual for the discontinued procedure. note: this modifier is not used to report the elective cancellation of a procedure prior to the patient's anesthesia induction and/or surgical preparation in the operating suite. for outpatient hospital/ambulatory surgery center (asc) reporting of a previously scheduled procedure/service that is partially reduced or cancelled as a result of extenuating circumstances or those that threaten the well being of the patient prior to or after administration of anesthesia, see modifiers 73 and 74 (see modifiers approved for asc hospital outpatient use). | 57 | Decision for surgery: an evaluation and management service that resulted in the initial decision to perform the surgery may be identified by adding modifier 57 to the appropriate level of e/m service. | 76 | Repeat procedure or service by same physician or other qualified health care professional: it may be necessary to indicate that a procedure or service was repeated by the same physician or other qualified health care professional subsequent to the original procedure or service. this circumstance may be reported by adding modifier 76 to the repeated procedure or service. note: this modifier should not be appended to an e/m service. | 95 | Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via a real-time interactive audio and video telecommunications system: synchronous telemedicine service is defined as a real-time interaction between a physician or other qualified health care professional and a patient who is located at a distant site from the physician or other qualified health care professional. the totality of the communication of information exchanged between the physician or other qualified health care professional and the patient during the course of the synchronous telemedicine service must be of an amount and nature that would be sufficient to meet the key components and/or requirements of the same service when rendered via a face-to-face interaction. modifier 95 may only be appended to the services listed in appendix p. appendix p is the list of cpt codes for services that are typically performed face-to-face, but may be rendered via a real-time (synchronous) interactive audio and video telecommunications system. | 97 | Rehabilitative services: when a service or procedure that may be either habilitative or rehabilitative in nature is provided for rehabilitative purposes, the physician or other qualified health care professional may add modifier 97 to the service or procedure code to indicate that the service or procedure provided was a rehabilitative service. rehabilitative services help an individual keep, get back, or improve skills and functioning for daily living that have been lost or impaired because the individual was sick, hurt, or disabled. | A1 | Dressing for one wound | A2 | Dressing for two wounds | A3 | Dressing for three wounds | AG | Primary physician | AS | Physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist services for assistant at surgery | AY | Item or service furnished to an esrd patient that is not for the treatment of esrd | CC | Procedure code change (use 'cc' when the procedure code submitted was changed either for administrative reasons or because an incorrect code was filed) | CG | Policy criteria applied | E1 | Upper left, eyelid | E2 | Lower left, eyelid | E3 | Upper right, eyelid | ER | Items and services furnished by a provider-based, off-campus emergency department | ET | Emergency services | F1 | Left hand, second digit | F2 | Left hand, third digit | F3 | Left hand, fourth digit | F4 | Left hand, fifth digit | F5 | Right hand, thumb | F6 | Right hand, second digit | F7 | Right hand, third digit | F8 | Right hand, fourth digit | FA | Left hand, thumb | FS | Split (or shared) evaluation and management visit | G0 | Telehealth services for diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment, of symptoms of an acute stroke | GK | Reasonable and necessary item/service associated with a ga or gz modifier | GQ | Via asynchronous telecommunications system | KW | Dmepos item subject to dmepos competitive bidding program number 4 | PD | Diagnostic or related non diagnostic item or service provided in a wholly owned or operated entity to a patient who is admitted as an inpatient within 3 days | PN | Non-excepted service provided at an off-campus, outpatient, provider-based department of a hospital | Q1 | Routine clinical service provided in a clinical research study that is in an approved clinical research study | Q5 | Service furnished under a reciprocal billing arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area | Q7 | One class a finding | SG | Ambulatory surgical center (asc) facility service | SU | Procedure performed in physician's office (to denote use of facility and equipment) | TB | Drug or biological acquired with 340b drug pricing program discount, reported for informational purposes | TL | Early intervention/individualized family service plan (ifsp) | TR | School-based individualized education program (iep) services provided outside the public school district responsible for the student | TT | Individualized service provided to more than one patient in same setting | UD | Medicaid level of care 13, as defined by each state | X1 | Continuous/broad services: for reporting services by clinicians, who provide the principal care for a patient, with no planned endpoint of the relationship; services in this category represent comprehensive care, dealing with the entire scope of patient problems, either directly or in a care coordination role; reporting clinician service examples include, but are not limited to: primary care, and clinicians providing comprehensive care to patients in addition to specialty care | X2 | Continuous/focused services: for reporting services by clinicians whose expertise is needed for the ongoing management of a chronic disease or a condition that needs to be managed and followed with no planned endpoint to the relationship; reporting clinician service examples include but are not limited to: a rheumatologist taking care of the patient's rheumatoid arthritis longitudinally but not providing general primary care services |
|
Date
|
Action
|
Notes
|
|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-01 | Changed | Short and Medium Descriptions changed. |
| 2011-01-01 | Changed | Long description revised. Medium description changed. Short description changed. |
| 2005-01-01 | Added | First appearance in code book in 2005. |
Get instant expert-level medical coding assistance.