Pneumonectomy is the surgical removal of an entire right or left lung. It is the most extensive standard pulmonary resection and requires division and control of the main bronchus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary veins, leaving the contralateral lung to provide all subsequent gas exchange. It differs from lobectomy, which removes one lobe, segmentectomy, which removes a bronchopulmonary segment, and wedge resection, which is a smaller nonanatomic excision. pneumonectomy is an operative treatment rather than a physiological process; it may be undertaken for a localized but unresectable-by-lesser-resection malignancy, selected pleural malignancy, severe unilateral destructive disease, or other documented indication. The term does not itself determine an ICD-10-CM diagnosis: examples include a main-bronchus primary malignancy such as C34.01 or C34.02, lobe-specific lung cancer such as C34.11 or C34.32, and pleural mesotheliomaC45.0 when clinically supported.
Noun-forming surgical suffix meaning “cutting out” or “excision”
The noun pneumonectomy is attested in English in the 1880s; the Oxford English Dictionary records evidence from 1885, while Merriam-Webster lists a first-known use of 1890. It was formed in International Scientific Vocabulary from Greek pneúmōn (“lung”) plus -ectomy (“excision”)—literally, “excision of a lung.” The combining form pneumon- belongs to a Greek lung-word family visible in pneumonia and pneumonitis, while -ectomy forms procedure names such as appendectomy, thyroidectomy, and lobectomy.
ALIASES / ALTERNATE TERMS
Pneumectomy(accepted shortened synonym for pneumonectomy; confirm that the documentation describes removal of an entire lung)
Total lung resection(descriptive clinical synonym; distinguish from partial lung resection)
Extrapleural pneumonectomy(extended resection that removes the lung together with pleura and may include other involved structures; commonly considered for selected pleural malignancy)
Sleeve pneumonectomy(pneumonectomy requiring airway resection and reconstruction; a more complex reconstructive form)
Completion pneumonectomy(removal of remaining lung after an earlier ipsilateral pulmonary resection; code selection depends on the current operative report)
🔗 RELATED TERMS
Lobectomy — removal of one lung lobe; it preserves more lung parenchyma than a pneumonectomy.
Bilobectomy — removal of two lung lobes, usually on the right; it is less extensive than removal of the whole lung.
Segmentectomy — an anatomic resection of one or more bronchopulmonary segments rather than a complete lobe or lung.
Wedge resection — a limited nonanatomic resection of a lesion and margin of lung tissue.
Sleeve pneumonectomy — a pneumonectomy that includes bronchial resection and airway reconstruction.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy — an extended operation involving the lung and pleura, distinct from a standard pneumonectomy.
Thoracotomy — an open surgical approach to the thorax; it is an approach, not the extent of lung resection.
Thoracoscopy — a minimally invasive chest approach that may be used for a documented thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.
Lymphadenectomy — removal of lymph nodes that may be performed for staging or treatment during oncologic pulmonary surgery.
CODING CORNER
🏥 ICD-10-CM CODES
Pneumonectomy is a procedure, not an ICD-10-CM diagnosis. Choose the complete billable diagnosis that establishes the indication and use status, aftercare, or history codes only when the encounter documentation supports them.
🔧 COMMON CPT CODES (Pneumonectomy-Related Procedures)
Use the operative report to establish the surgical approach and the extent of resection. The following are active 2026 CPT codes; they are not interchangeable.
Add-on thoracoscopic mediastinal and regional lymphadenectomy; report only with a qualifying primary thoracoscopic procedure when separately documented
May identify the right-sided pulmonary service when required and accepted by the payer; it does not substitute for operative documentation of the removed lung
May identify the left-sided pulmonary service when required and accepted by the payer; it does not substitute for operative documentation of the removed lung
Use, when payer policy accepts it, to identify an unusual non-overlapping service that is distinct from the usual components of the primary service
⚠️ Coding Note: Report the active, documented underlying diagnosis as the primary reason for a pneumonectomy. The documentation must specify the disease, laterality, and pulmonary site when known: “right main-bronchus carcinoma” supports C34.01, “left lower-lobe carcinoma” supports C34.32, and an overlapping lesion is not coded as a single lobe when the record supports C34.81 or C34.82. Do not use Z85.118 for active cancer treatment; use a current malignant-neoplasm code until the primary malignancy has been eradicated or is no longer being treated. Report Z48.813 for an aftercare encounter only when appropriate to that encounter, and code Z90.2 when the acquired absence of lung is clinically relevant and documented. Select only the procedure code that matches the actual approach and extent—do not report open 32440 and thoracoscopic 32671 for the same pneumonectomy—and add 32674 only when a separately documented qualifying thoracoscopic lymphadenectomy was performed. Use -59 or -XU only when a distinct service is supported by the record and allowed by the applicable NCCI edit; append -RT or -LT only when payer policy requires it. For hospital inpatient facility procedure reporting, use the applicable inpatient procedure code set rather than ICD-10-CM or CPT.