tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2012 Issue 7

Reader Question: Use 'Secondary' for Metastatic Cancer

Question: How should we code malignant breast cancer with findings of metastasis to liver and bone? Should we report only a breast ICD-9 code? Tennessee SubscriberAnswer:Report the breast cancer first using a primary malignant neoplasm code. You should additionally report a secondary neoplasm code for liver and bone findings.Breast: Based on the information provided, the correct code for the breast cancer is 174.9 (Malignant neoplasm of breast [female] unspecified site). If the op report identifies the location of the tumor, you should use a more specific diagnosis code for that site, such as 174.1 (Malignant neoplasm...

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