A resection is the surgical removal of all or part of a tissue, organ, tumor, or body structure by cutting it out or away. In precise surgical terminology, a resection differs from a simple excision in scope and intent: excision removes a portion of a body part without regard to vascular territories, while resection implies removal of the whole body part or an anatomically discrete subdivision of it (e.g., a lobe of the lung, the entire gallbladder, a segment of the colon). In ICD-10-PCS, the root operation Resection (value: T) is defined as cutting out or off, without replacement, all of a body part — versus Excision, which removes some of a body part. When a surgeon documents “partial resection,” coders should correlate this to the ICD-10-PCS root operation of Excision, not Resection. Common clinical examples include cholecystectomy (resection of the entire gallbladder), lobectomy (resection of an entire lung lobe), sigmoidectomy (resection of the entire sigmoid colon), and mastectomy. In CPT coding, resection-type procedures are generally encoded as -ectomy codes (the organ prefix + -ectomy suffix), with specificity driven by approach (open vs. laparoscopic), extent (partial vs. total), and whether reconstruction/anastomosis was performed. Accurate resection coding is critical for MS-DRG weight, CC/MCC capture, and OR procedure designation in the inpatient setting.
Noun-forming suffix — “act or process of”; denotes the result or performance of an action
Literally: “the act of cutting back or cutting away” — from Latin resecare, “to cut off, cut loose, curtail,” from re- (intensive) + secare (“to cut”). The term entered English in the 1610s with the general sense of “action of cutting off or away,” and by 1775 the surgical sense of “excision of a body part” had become the primary surviving meaning. The same root secare underlies section, sector, dissection, intersection, and the surgical suffix -sect.
🔀 ALIASES / ALTERNATE TERMS
Term
Context
Segmental resection / Segmentectomy
Removal of an anatomically discrete segment (e.g., lung segment, hepatic segment)
En bloc resection
Removal of a tumor along with surrounding tissue in one continuous piece; used in oncologic surgery
Wedge resection
Removal of a wedge-shaped portion of tissue (lung, liver); CPT 32505-32507
Sleeve resection
Cylindrical removal of a bronchus or tracheal segment with anastomosis
Partial resection
Removal of only part of a body part — maps to ICD-10-PCS root operation Excision, not Resection
Total resection
Complete removal of the entire organ or body part — maps to ICD-10-PCS root operation Resection
Bowel resection / Enterectomy
Surgical removal of a segment of small or large intestine; CPT 44120, 44140
Transurethral resection (TURP / TURBT)
Endoscopic resection of prostate or bladder tumor via urethra
Resection margin
The tissue boundary at the edge of the removed specimen; must be free of tumor (negative margin)
R0 resection
Oncologic term: complete resection with negative (clear) margins
R1 resection
Microscopic tumor at resection margin
R2 resection
Macroscopic (gross) residual tumor left at resection
🔗 RELATED TERMS
Excision — removal of part of a body part; ICD-10-PCS root operation B; closely related to resection but defined by partial vs. total removal
-ectomy — Greek suffix meaning surgical removal; the CPT/clinical equivalent of resection (e.g., colectomy, nephrectomy, gastrectomy)
Anastomosis — surgical reconnection of bowel or tubular structures following resection; often performed as part of the same operative session
Lobectomy — resection of an entire lobe (lung or liver); prototype ICD-10-PCS resection
Cholecystectomy — resection of entire gallbladder; classic example of ICD-10-PCS root operation Resection
Colectomy — resection of part or all of the colon; partial = Excision; total = Resection in ICD-10-PCS
Nephrectomy — resection of the kidney; radical vs. partial nephrectomy determines ICD-10-PCS root operation
Mastectomy — resection of the breast; total = ICD-10-PCS Resection
Gastrectomy — partial or total resection of the stomach
Prostatectomy — resection of the prostate gland; open, laparoscopic, or robotic approach
Debulking — intentional incomplete resection (cytoreduction) used in gynecologic oncology; does NOT map to ICD-10-PCS Resection
Margins — pathologic status of tissue borders at edge of resected specimen; R0/R1/R2 classification
Oncology — primary clinical context driving majority of resection procedures
Biopsy — diagnostic removal of tissue; distinct from resection; maps to Excision in ICD-10-PCS with diagnostic qualifier
⚠️ Coding Note — ICD-10-PCS Excision vs. Resection: The single most common inpatient coding error involving resection is assigning the wrong ICD-10-PCS root operation. The key rule: Resection (T) = the entire body part is removed. Excision (B) = part of a body part is removed. If a physician documents “partial resection,” that is Excision in ICD-10-PCS — do not let the word “resection” in the documentation override the root operation definition. Always read the full operative note and correlate with pathology. For lobectomy of a lung lobe, even though the entire lung was not removed, if the entire lobe was removed, the correct root operation is Resection because ICD-10-PCS has a specific body part value for that lobe. For CPT coding, resection-type procedures are represented by -ectomy codes — always verify approach (open vs. laparoscopic), extent (partial vs. total/radical), and whether lymphadenectomy or reconstruction was performed, as these factors drive code selection and may add significant RVUs. Modifier -22 should be supported by an operative note that documents the increased complexity — do not append without documentation.
Crystal's MCW Coder Hub