June 2019 page 14a
Surgery: Integumentary System
Question: A patient presents for bilateral nipple-delay procedure prior to a future nipple-sparing mastectomy. What is the appropriate code assignment for the nipple-delay procedure performed?
Answer: Code 15600, Delay of flap or sectioning of flap (division and inset), at trunk, and an additional unit of code 15600 with modifier 59, Distinct procedural service, appended to indicate that the procedure was performed bilaterally. Because code 15600 is a code for the trunk and because the trunk is not a bilateral organ, it would be inappropriate to append modifier 50, Bilateral procedure, in this...
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