tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2010 Issue 10

You Be the Coder: 11403 and 21930: Should You Measure Lesions the Same Way?

Question: If our surgeon removes a sebaceous cyst from the back that measures 2.5 x 1. 5 x 0.5 cm, what dimension should we use to select the proper skin lesion code? Do you determine the size the same way if it's a lipoma, and how should we measure for repair codes?Texas SubscriberAnswer: Whether the surgeon removes a cyst or lipoma with the lesion measurements you gave, you should select the code based on the largest dimension (2.5 cm). If the surgeon also documents the width of the narrowest margin, however, you could add that...

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