CCSD code C6910 – Reformation of anterior chamber

Key takeaways

CCSD code C6910 covers reformation of the anterior chamber, and Freedom and National Friendly both rate it Major, at £450 and £548.

Pair it with a WHO ICD-10 code that names the cause, such as H44.4 for hypotony or T81.3 for a leaking surgical wound.

Bill C6910 separately only when the note records a distinct complication, and never on the same claim as C6980.

Pabau’s claims management software sends C6910 claims to Healthcode from the patient record and tracks each one to payment.

CCSD code C6910: Definition and procedure overview

CCSD code C6910 is the code for reformation of the anterior chamber. The surgeon refills a flat or shallow anterior chamber with balanced salt solution (BSS), viscoelastic or air. That restores the space between the cornea and the iris before the collapse damages either one.

CCSD stands for the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development Group. Its members include Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva and Vitality, and it maintains the procedure schedule most UK private insurers use. The schedule sets the code, while each insurer sets its own complexity band and fee.

C6910 sits in chapter 4 of the schedule, Eye and orbital contents, in section 4.8, Iris and anterior chamber. You can browse the rest of the schedule in our CCSD codes by chapter guide.

The code records the reformation itself. Why the chamber collapsed goes on the claim as a separate ICD-10 diagnosis code, covered below.

Clinical indications for reformation of the anterior chamber

A flat anterior chamber needs prompt treatment. Contact between the iris, lens and cornea can damage the corneal endothelium, so surgeons rarely leave the chamber flat for long.

• Wound leak after cataract surgery: An unsealed phacoemulsification or extracapsular incision lets aqueous escape, and the chamber shallows within hours.
• Overfiltration after glaucoma surgery: A trabeculectomy drains too much aqueous, so pressure drops and the chamber flattens.
• Aqueous misdirection: Aqueous flows backward into the vitreous and pushes the lens and iris forward, even when the wound is sealed.
• Choroidal effusion: Fluid collects under the choroid and pushes the eye’s contents forward, often alongside low pressure.
• Penetrating trauma: An injury opens the globe or reopens an old incision, and the chamber is lost.
• Cyclodialysis cleft: A split between the ciliary body and the scleral spur lowers eye pressure and can flatten the chamber.

Urgency matters for billing too. A reformation done in the middle of another operation can’t be pre-authorized in advance, which changes how you approach the insurer.

How the procedure is performed

The surgeon enters the chamber through an existing paracentesis, the main wound or a new side-port incision. BSS, a viscoelastic agent such as sodium hyaluronate, or an air bubble is injected until the chamber deepens.

The surgeon then checks chamber depth at the slit lamp or under the microscope and measures intraocular pressure (IOP). A leaking wound is sutured or hydrated before the patient leaves, or the chamber can collapse again.

Reformation can happen in theater during the original operation or at a separate visit. Record which one it was, because it changes how the claim is built.

C6910 fees and complexity bands by insurer

The fee depends on whose schedule the patient’s policy follows. Two openly published schedules list C6910, and both rate it Major.

Freedom Health Insurance last updated its chapter 4 fees in January 2026. National Friendly publishes its full schedule as a PDF.

If the consultant charges more than the insurer’s schedule allows, the patient may face a shortfall. Check the current figures before you quote the patient. Our Bupa CCSD codes guide explains how Bupa’s fee categories work.

Neighboring CCSD codes often confused with C6910

The iris and anterior chamber section holds several codes for related work. Picking the wrong one, or adding one the schedule won’t accept, leads to a query.

These descriptors follow Freedom’s January 2026 schedule, and wording varies slightly between insurers. National Friendly, for example, words C6920 as “Paracentesis of the eye.” Our guides to CCSD code C6920 and CCSD code C6980 cover both codes in full.

ICD-10 diagnosis codes that support C6910 claims

Every C6910 claim needs a primary diagnosis that explains why the chamber collapsed. UK insurers use WHO ICD-10, which stops at four characters and has no laterality codes.

US guidance often quotes ICD-10-CM codes such as H44.41- or T81.89XA. UK insurers don’t use that format, so convert them to the WHO codes above. The note must also name the treated eye, because the code can’t.

Documentation requirements for billing C6910

The operative note is the first document an insurer asks for when it queries a claim. Make sure it records each of these elements.

• Clinical indication: The cause of the collapse, matching the ICD-10 code, for example “flat chamber from a wound leak at the end of phacoemulsification.”
• Laterality: The eye treated, written in the note body rather than only shown on a diagram.
• Method and route: BSS, viscoelastic or air, the agent used, and the entry point.
• Findings before: The chamber depth and the IOP reading before reformation.
• Findings after: Confirmation that the chamber held, with the closing IOP.
• Setting and timing: Whether it happened during the original operation or at a later visit, with the date.
• Operating surgeon: Who performed the reformation, especially when an assistant was present.

A structured operative-note template can require these fields before sign-off. Missing readings then get caught in theater, rather than weeks later in an insurer query.

Pre-authorization for planned and urgent C6910 cases

UK private insurers generally expect the patient to get pre-authorization before planned treatment. The authorization number then goes on the claim.

An urgent reformation in the middle of another operation can’t be authorized in advance. Contact the insurer as soon as you can afterward. Explain the complication and ask how to add C6910 to the existing authorization.

A planned reformation follows the normal route, such as a later visit for a chamber that keeps shallowing. The patient gets authorization for C6910 before the appointment. Each insurer sets its own rules, so check them rather than assuming they match.

Laterality, bilateral procedures and co-billing

CCSD has no laterality or bilateral modifiers, and Freedom’s schedule lists no bilateral version of C6910. If both eyes are reformed on the same day, ask the insurer how it wants the second eye billed.

Whether C6910 goes on the claim at all depends on what the note shows.

• Routine step: Topping up the chamber with BSS while closing an uncomplicated cataract wound is part of the main operation. Don’t bill it separately.
• Distinct complication: The chamber collapsed because of a leak, capsule rupture or misdirection, and the note says so. C6910 may then be billed alongside the main procedure.
• Separate visit: The flat chamber was found and treated at a later appointment. C6910 goes on that date’s claim, not the theater claim.
• Unacceptable pairing: C6910 can’t be claimed with C6980 for the same operation.

Freedom’s schedule also states that the cataract fee includes any injection into the anterior chamber. If you’re unsure whether a pairing will be accepted, ask the insurer before you submit.

Why C6910 claims get queried and how to fix them

Most C6910 queries trace back to a handful of avoidable problems. Tracking query reasons over time, as our guide to denial management in healthcare describes, shows which one keeps coming back.

• Diagnosis doesn’t explain the procedure: A vague or US-format code leaves the insurer unsure why the chamber needed reforming. Use a WHO ICD-10 code that names the cause.
• Routine step billed as a procedure: C6910 added to a cataract claim with no complication in the note looks like double billing. Bill it only when the note describes the event.
• No authorization reference: An urgent reformation is submitted without telling the insurer. Call the insurer after surgery and add the reference to the claim.
• Missing eye or readings: The note doesn’t say which eye or give pressures before and after. Build those fields into the template.
• Duplicate dates: C6910 appears on the theater claim and a follow-up claim for one event. Bill it once, on the date it happened.
• Unacceptable pairing: C6910 is claimed alongside C6980. Keep the reformation in the note and bill the foreign body removal alone.

How Pabau gets C6910 claims to Healthcode

Eye practices often book surgery in one system and key claims into Healthcode by hand. Each retyped field is another chance for a wrong code or a missing authorization number.

Pabau’s practice software builds the claim from the patient record and sends it to Healthcode. With its claims management software, the CCSD code, diagnosis, membership number and authorization reference carry across without retyping.

Each claim then moves through clear stages, from submitted to paid, on one screen. When an insurer queries a reformation, your team sees it the same week and answers with the operative note.

Send C6910 claims to Healthcode in one step

Pabau helps UK private eye practices build CCSD claims from the patient record and send them to Healthcode. You can then track every claim to payment.

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Conclusion

C6910 is a Major procedure on the schedules that publish it, but the code alone doesn’t get it paid. Insurers pay when the note shows why the chamber collapsed and that the reformation was its own event.

Name the eye, record pressure and depth before and after, and match the diagnosis to the cause. Sort out authorization the same day for urgent cases, and C6910 queries become rare.

Book a demo to see how Pabau takes a C6910 claim from the operative note to Healthcode and tracks it to payment.

Continue your research

Injecting a drug into a chamber that kept its depth? CCSD code C6930 covers anterior chamber injection, with its fees, diagnosis codes and documentation.

Did vitreous come forward after a posterior capsule rupture? CCSD code C7910 explains how to bill an anterior vitrectomy and when it sits alongside the main operation.

Is overfiltration after a trabeculectomy behind the flat chamber? CCSD code C6150 covers revision of previous glaucoma surgery and the insurer rules around it.

Billing the cataract operation where the wound leak started? CCSD code C7122 walks through phacoemulsification with lens implant, from complexity bands to pre-authorization.

Frequently asked questions