HI255 Unit 3 Root Operation Exercise Example

Reviewed by Chester Goodwin, MBA Medical Coding II Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

This HI255 Unit 3 root operation exercise sorts eight composite procedure statements by how much of a body part was removed and why. Purdue Global HI 255 uses the unit to fix one rule for BS in Health Information Management students: extent, read against the body part values, decides between Excision and Resection. The items come in pairs, a partial and a total nephrectomy, a lung wedge and a right upper lobectomy, a left thyroid lobectomy and a total thyroidectomy, followed by a sigmoid colectomy. Two distractors, a liver abscess drainage and a ureteral stone removal, show that the objective, not whatever leaves the body, chooses the root operation. Every item gives the root operation, the body part, the phrase that shows extent, the rejected alternative and the full code.

CourseHI255 Medical Coding II
UnitUnit 3
Paper typeRoot operation exercise
LengthAbout 950 words, 6 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Health Information Management
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HI255 Unit 3

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How Much Came Out Decides the Verb: A Unit 3 Root Operation Exercise Sorting Eight Procedure Statements Into Excision, Resection, Drainage and Extirpation by Extent and Objective

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

HI255: Medical Coding II

Unit 3 Root Operation Exercise

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The procedure statements are composite; the code values, guideline numbers and sources cited are real and follow the FY 2026 ICD-10-PCS.

What this part is doingAnswering the items in matched pairs lets the grader see the single fact that separates Excision from Resection in each one.
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The Rule Being Tested

In ICD-10-PCS, Excision takes away some of a body part and puts nothing in its place, while Resection takes away the whole body part, again with nothing put back (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2025). The difference is extent, but extent is measured against the body part values the classification provides. Guideline B3.8 states that where PCS offers a specific value for a subdivision, such as a lobe of the lung or liver or a region of the intestine, removing all of that subdivision is coded as Resection of the specific value, not Excision of the larger organ. Every answer below applies one of those two definitions and then checks the body part list. Each answer gives four lines: the root operation, the body part value, the phrase in the statement that shows extent, and the alternative rejected with its reason.

Pair 1: The Kidney

1. Open partial nephrectomy, right kidney, for a 2.4 cm tumor at the lower pole, with the rest of the kidney preserved.

Root operation: Excision. Body part: Kidney, Right. Phrase: rest of the kidney preserved. Rejected: Resection, because part of the organ remains. Code: 0TB00ZZ.

2. Laparoscopic total nephrectomy, left kidney, for a nonfunctioning kidney.

Root operation: Resection. Body part: Kidney, Left. Phrase: total. Rejected: Excision, because nothing of the kidney remains. Code: 0TT14ZZ. The kidney pair is the easy one because the kidney has no subdivisions in PCS. Either part of it came out or all of it did.

Pair 2: The Lung

3. Thoracoscopic wedge resection of a 1.5 cm nodule from the right upper lobe.

Root operation: Excision. Body part: Upper Lung Lobe, Right. Phrase: wedge. Rejected: Resection, despite the word resection in the procedure name, because only a wedge was taken from a lobe that has its own body part value. Code: 0BBC4ZZ.

4. Thoracoscopic right upper lobectomy.

Root operation: Resection. Body part: Upper Lung Lobe, Right. Phrase: lobectomy, the whole lobe. Rejected: Excision of Lung, Right, because guideline B3.8 sends the removal of an entire lobe to Resection of the lobe value. Code: 0BTC4ZZ. The procedure name in item 3 contains the word resection, and the code is Excision. In this exercise the name of the operation proves nothing until the extent is read. Clinically the distinction matters too. A wedge removes a margin of tissue around the nodule, while a lobectomy removes the anatomic unit with its vessels and airway, and surgical trials compare the two as different operations with different outcomes (Altorki et al., 2023). The code set mirrors that difference.

Pair 3: The Thyroid

What this part is doingThe thyroid items are placed right after the lung items so the grader sees the lobe rule produce Resection in one organ and Excision in the other.
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5. Open left thyroid lobectomy for a follicular nodule.

Root operation: Resection. Body part: Thyroid Gland Lobe, Left. Phrase: lobectomy. Rejected: Excision of Thyroid Gland, because the left lobe has its own value and all of it was removed. Code: 0GTG0ZZ.

6. Open total thyroidectomy.

Root operation: Resection. Body part: Thyroid Gland. Phrase: total. Rejected: two Resection codes for the right and left lobes, because a single value covers the whole gland. Code: 0GTK0ZZ. The thyroid pair runs the lung logic in reverse. Here the partial-sounding operation is still Resection, because the lobe is a body part in its own right.

Item 7: The Colon

7. Laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy with a primary anastomosis for recurrent diverticulitis.

Root operation: Resection. Body part: Sigmoid Colon. Phrase: sigmoid colectomy, the whole named segment. Rejected: Excision of Large Intestine, because the sigmoid colon has a value of its own and all of it was removed. The anastomosis is the step that completes the resection and is not coded as a separate bypass. Code: 0DTN4ZZ.

What this part is doingNoting that the anastomosis is not a separate root operation answers the most common follow-up question on colon items before the grader asks it.
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Items 8 and 9: Two Distractors

8. CT-guided percutaneous drainage of a liver abscess, with a drainage catheter left in place.

Root operation: Drainage. Body part: Liver. Phrase: drainage of an abscess, with fluid taken out. Rejected: Excision, because no tissue was cut out; the objective was to remove fluid. The catheter left in place is the drainage device recorded in the sixth character. Code: 0F9030Z.

9. Ureteroscopic removal of a 6 mm stone from the left ureter.

Root operation: Extirpation. Body part: Ureter, Left. Phrase: removal of a stone. Rejected: Excision, because the stone is solid matter that is not part of the body, and Extirpation is the root operation for taking out such matter. The scope went up through the urethra and bladder, which sets the fifth character to 8. Code: 0TC78ZZ. Something leaves the body in every item on this list. That is why leaving the body cannot be the test. The test is the surgeon's objective: tissue cut out, fluid drained, or a foreign or solid object removed.

The Rule in One Paragraph

Read extent before reading the operation's name, and read the body part list before deciding what counts as all. If PCS has a value for the exact part removed and all of it came out, the answer is Resection of that value. If only some of the part came out, the answer is Excision. If the objective was to remove fluid or a solid object rather than tissue, neither applies. Studies of coding accuracy repeatedly find that errors cluster where coders rely on procedure titles rather than the operative description, which is the habit this exercise is designed to break (O'Malley et al., 2005).

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References

Altorki, N., Wang, X., Kozono, D., Watt, C., Landrenau, R., Wigle, D., Port, J., Jones, D. R., Conti, M., Ashrafi, A. S., Liberman, M., Yasufuku, K., Yang, S., Mitchell, J. D., Pass, H., Keenan, R., Bauer, T., Miller, D., Kohman, L. J., ... Vokes, E. E. (2023). Lobar or sublobar resection for peripheral stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 388(6), 489-498. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2212083

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2025). ICD-10-PCS official guidelines for coding and reporting 2026. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

O'Malley, K. J., Cook, K. F., Price, M. D., Wildes, K. R., Hurdle, J. F., & Ashton, C. M. (2005). Measuring diagnoses: ICD code accuracy. Health Services Research, 40(5p2), 1620-1639. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2005.00444.x

HI255 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms

The third unit commonly lists six to ten short procedure statements and asks you to name the root operation for each, with a reason. You are expected to apply the definitions from the ICD-10-PCS tables, not the everyday meaning of the procedure name. Expect at least one statement whose name contains resection or ectomy but describes only part of a body part, and one that tests the guideline on subdivisions such as lobes or intestinal segments. Many sets mix in procedures with other objectives, such as drainage, extirpation or extraction, to see whether you read the purpose of the operation. Some instructors want full seven-character codes, while others accept the root operation and body part. A short closing paragraph stating the rule in your own words is often requested, along with a guideline citation.

Inside the HI255 Unit 3 example

The exercise begins by stating the definitions of Excision and Resection in plain words and quoting the subdivision guideline. Each item then follows a fixed four-line answer plus the code. The kidney pair comes first because its answer is intuitive. The lung pair follows, with a highlighted line noting that a procedure called a wedge resection is coded Excision, and a clinical paragraph cites a trial comparing lobar and sublobar surgery. The thyroid pair shows the lobe rule working the other way. The colon item explains why the anastomosis is not a separate root operation. The two distractors show Drainage with a device left in place and Extirpation of a stone through a scope. A final paragraph restates the rule in four sentences and ties it to research on coding errors.

Reading the HI255 Unit 3 grading rubric

Most rubrics give a point or two per item for the correct root operation and more for the reasoning that rejects the nearest alternative. The paired items are often weighted more heavily, because they show whether the student understands extent or simply matched words. The subdivision guideline is a frequent grading focus: answers that code a lobectomy as Excision of the lung lose the points for that item. Full codes, when requested, are checked character by character, and the approach and qualifier must match the statement. The distractors test objective, and getting them wrong suggests the definitions were not read. A short, accurate summary of the rule and a citation to the current guidelines usually earn the remaining marks. Clear, consistent formatting helps the grader find each answer quickly.

HI255 Unit 3 help from the desk

The error that costs the most is trusting the procedure name, which sends a wedge resection to Resection and a thyroid lobectomy to Excision. Students also forget to check whether a body part has its own value, so they code removal of a whole lobe as part of the lung. Another common slip is calling any removal Excision, including a stone or fluid, when the objective was Extirpation or Drainage. Some answers leave the drainage catheter out of the device character, or code a biopsy without the diagnostic qualifier. Rejected alternatives that just say not correct earn nothing. We can work through the statements your instructor assigned, with the root operation, the body part value and the reason the neighbor fails. Send the list, the edition and whether full codes are required.

Get an HI255 Unit 3 example written to your instructions

Send your Unit 3 statements or reports, the instructions and the rubric. Each item is answered with its root operation, body part value, the extent phrase quoted from the report and the alternative rejected, ready in 24-48h. Your section's answer layout can be matched, and the first custom sample goes out without a fee. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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HI255 Unit 3 questions, answered

Is a biopsy Excision or Resection?

Neither by default. A biopsy is coded to the root operation that describes how the tissue was obtained, often Excision, sometimes Extraction or Drainage, with the diagnostic qualifier in the seventh position. If the same site is then treated more definitively in the same operation, both procedures are coded. Many Unit 3 sets include a biopsy item for exactly this reason.

How does an answer show the rejected alternative?

In one line naming the root operation that was considered and the report fact that rules it out, for example Resection rejected because the report describes a margin of normal lobe left in place. Rubrics in HI255 often reserve credit for this line, since it shows the definitions were compared rather than one being chosen by sound.

What if the report is vague about how much was removed?

Then the extent is not documented, and the right response is usually a query to the surgeon rather than a guess. A pathology report can sometimes clarify what was received, but the root operation should rest on what the surgeon documented. The sample includes no vague item, though many sets do, and a query is the expected answer there.

Where can I find a free HI255 Unit 3 sample paper?

The complete Unit 3 root operation exercise is on this page, with eight procedure statements sorted into Excision, Resection, Drainage and Extirpation and a full code for each.

Why is a wedge resection of the lung coded as Excision?

Only a wedge of tissue is removed from a lobe, and the lobe has its own body part value. Because part of that lobe remains, the root operation is Excision, whatever the procedure is called.