tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 7

3 Examples Demonstrate When to Add Wound Lengths for Laceration Repairs

Heavily contaminated wounds could lead to an upcode from simple to intermediate repair When reporting laceration repairs, you shouldn't usually add together the repair lengths unless the wounds require the same level of repair and occur at the same anatomic location as defined by CPT. For a more thorough explanation, look to the following three examples. 1. Different Repair Types = Separate Codes You should combine or add the lengths of like wounds when they're located in the same anatomic area and are of the same classification. CPT explains this by specifying, "When multiple wounds are repaired, add together...

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