tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2006 Issue 10

READER QUESTIONS: Purpose Differs for Fine Needle and Puncture Aspirations

Question: How can I distinguish fine needle aspiration from puncture aspiration? What makes these procedures distinct?Hawaii Subscriber Answer: During fine needle aspiration (FNA), the physician uses a fine-gauge needle (from 18 to 25 gauge) and a syringe to sample fluid from a cyst or remove clusters of cells from a solid mass. The surgeon may make several passes to obtain an adequate tissue specimen. You can report these procedures using 10021 (Fine needle aspiration; without imaging guidance) and 10022 (... with imaging guidance).When the surgeon performs a puncture aspiration to identify or drain a breast cyst, he...

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