tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2007 Issue 7

Lesion Excisions Don't Add Up? Here's What to Do Instead

Tip: Rules for laceration repair don't apply to excision procedures When your physician excises multiple lesions, don't make the common mistake of adding together the area of the several lesions and reporting a single excision code. Instead, you should bill for each lesion separately, using modifier 59 (Distinct procedural service) to clarify that the excisions took place at separate locations. The only exception occurs in the rare case that the surgeon excises two separate lesions using a single excision. Different Procedures Call for Different Guidelines Some coders, especially those who are less familiar with integumentary coding, become confused because...

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.