tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2024 Issue Q3
You Be the Coder: Code This Excess Skin Removal Procedure
Question: Our surgeon operated on a patient who experienced significant weight loss after undergoing bariatric surgery. The patient experienced persistent skin irritations, lesions, and infections caused by friction in the folds of their excess skin. The surgery involved removing skin and fat, performing intermediate and complex closure and plication of the facia to relieve tension, plus repositioning the umbilicus. How should we code this? Wyoming Subscriber Answer: The procedure you describe is a panniculectomy, which is surgery to remove excess, loose abdominal skin and fat that may occur following extensive weight loss. The proper code for this procedure is...
To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.
Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.