What happens if the margins are positive?
What is the CPT code for excision of labial cyst? A If the cyst was excised, code 57135 (excision of vaginal cyst or tumor), is appropriate. Then, what is the CPT code for vulvar biopsy?
lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular lesions, up to 14 lesions. CPT code 17111 should be reported with one unit of service for removal of benign lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular lesions, representing 15 or more. CPT codes 11400-11446 should be used when the excision is a full-thickness (through the dermis) removal of a lesion, including margins, and includes simple (non-layered) closure. 2. The provider should use the appropriate CPT code and the diagnosis ...
Types of malignant eyelid lesions
CPT code 17111 should be reported with one unit of service for removal of benign lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular lesions, representing 15 or more.
CPT codes 11400-11446 should be used when the excision is a full-thickness (through the dermis) removal of a lesion, including margins, and includes simple (non-layered) closure.
Definition & Overview. The excision of a benign skin lesion is the surgical procedure of removing nonmalignant (not cancerous) skin lesions or abnormal growths from different parts of the body including the trunk, arms, and legs.
CPT® Code 11400 in section: Excision, benign lesion including margins, except skin tag (unless listed elsewhere), trunk, arms or legs.
Group 2CodeDescription11620EXCISION, MALIGNANT LESION INCLUDING MARGINS, SCALP, NECK, HANDS, FEET, GENITALIA; EXCISED DIAMETER 0.5 CM OR LESS11621EXCISION, MALIGNANT LESION INCLUDING MARGINS, SCALP, NECK, HANDS, FEET, GENITALIA; EXCISED DIAMETER 0.6 TO 1.0 CM4 more rows
Codes 11420- 11426 are used for the excision of benign lesions of the scalp, neck, hands, feet, and genitalia, whereas codes 11440-11446 are used for excision of benign lesions of the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, and mucous membrane.
Skin lesion excision is a procedure in which the surgeon removes a cancerous skin lesion and an area of surrounding tissue called the margin.
Primary skin lesions tend to be divided into three groups:Lesions formed by fluid within the skin layers. Examples include vesicles and pustules.Lesions that are solid masses. Examples include nodules and tumors.Flat lesions. Examples include patches and macules.
A code for excision of a benign lesion (e.g., 11400), specific to location and size of the cyst, would probably be most appropriate.
CPT® Code 11402 in section: Excision, benign lesion including margins, except skin tag (unless listed elsewhere), trunk, arms or legs.
CPT® Code 11420 in section: Excision, benign lesion including margins, except skin tag (unless listed elsewhere), scalp, neck, hands, feet, genitalia.
11443. EXCISION, OTHER BENIGN LESION INCLUDING MARGINS, EXCEPT SKIN TAG (UNLESS LISTED ELSEWHERE), FACE, EARS, EYELIDS, NOSE, LIPS, MUCOUS MEMBRANE; EXCISED DIAMETER 2.1 TO 3.0 CM.
To select an appropriate code for excision of a benign (11400-11471) or malignant (11600-11646) skin lesion, you must determine the lesion’s diameter at its widest point, and add double the width of the narrowest margin (the portion of healthy tissue around the lesion also excised).
Note that all lesion excision codes include simple closure. CPT allows separate coding for intermediate (12031-12057) and complex (13100-13153) repairs, when required. Payers who follow national Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits, however, may bundle intermediate and complex repairs into excision of benign lesions of 0.5 cm or less (11400, 11420 and 11440).
This holds true even if the pathology report on the second excision returns benign because the reason for the re-excision was malignancy. Treat each skin lesion excision as a separate procedure, with an individual, dedicated diagnosis.
Example: A surgeon excises an irregularly shaped, malignant skin lesion from a patient’s right shoulder. Prior to excision, the lesion measures 1.5 cm at its widest. To ensure removal of all malignancy, the surgeon allows a margin of at least 1.5 cm on all sides.
For example, a provider may make an incision that is longer than the lesion to “flatten” the resulting scar, but this doesn’t affect code selection. You should base your code selection on the actual size of the lesion before the provider performs the excision and prior to sending it to pathology, not according to the size of the surgical wound.
There is an exception to the above rule: If the provider performs a re-excision to obtain clear margins at a subsequent operative session, you may report the malignant diagnosis linked to the initial excision. This holds true even if the pathology report on the second excision returns benign because the reason for the re-excision was malignancy.
When a diagnosis of malignancy has not yet been established at the time the biopsy procedure was performed, the correct diagnosis code to list on the claim would most likely be D49.2, (Neoplasm of unspecified behavior, bone soft tissue, and skin).
If a claim is filed, ICD-9 CM code V50.1 (Other plastic surgery for unacceptable cosmetic appearance) should be used in conjunction with the appropriate procedure code
Similarly, use of ICD-9-CM 702.11, inflamed seborrheic keratosis, is insufficient to justify lesional removal without medical documentation of the patient’s symptoms and physical findings.
2) CPT codes 11055, 11056 and 11057 describe treatment of hyperkeratotic lesions (e.g., corns and calluses). Coverage for these three codes is described in the Medicare Internet Only Manual.
However, if the diagnosis is uncertain, either biopsy or removal may be more prudent than destruction. E.
Medicare will consider the removal of benign skin lesions as medically necessary, and not cosmetic, if one or more of the following conditions is present and clearly documented in the medical record:
The treatment of actinic keratosis is covered by NCD 250.4. This policy does not address routine foot care or the treatment of other skin lesions, e.g., ulcers, abscess, malignancies, dermatoses or psoriasis.
DECISION FOR SURGERY.<T>AN EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT SERVICE THAT RESULTED IN THE INITIAL DECISION TO PERFORM THE SURGERY, MAY BE IDENTIFIED BY ADDING THE MODIFIER -57 TO THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF E/M SERVICE, OR THE SEPARATE FIVE DIGIT MODIFIER 09957 MAY BE USED.
Billing and Coding articles provide guidance for the related Local Coverage Determination (LCD) and assist providers in submitting correct claims for payment. Billing and Coding articles typically include CPT/HCPCS procedure codes, ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes, as well as Bill Type, Revenue, and CPT/HCPCS Modifier codes. The code lists in the article help explain which services (procedures) the related LCD applies to, the diagnosis codes for which the service is covered, or for which the service is not considered reasonable and necessary and therefore not covered.
Without a pathology report to confirm the diagnosis, you must assign an unspecified diagnosis and a benign lesion excision code (11400-11471).
If pathology confirms malignancy, assign a malignant lesion code (11600-11646). Malignancies can be further classified into: Carcinoma in-situ – precancerous cells that have not spread beyond the primary site; may evolve into an invasive malignancy.
Excision involves the cutting and full-thickness removal of a lesion, with extension through the dermis into the subcutis. Skin lesion excisions include the surrounding tissue or margins. To accurately code lesion excisions, review the documentation for details regarding whether the lesion is benign or malignant, the location, and the excised diameter.
Re-excision necessitates special consideration. The provider may revisit a previous excision to remove additional tissue if pathology shows malignancy in the margins. Proper reporting of this re-excision depends on the timing of the follow-up excision.
Primary site – the original, or first, tumor in the body growing at the anatomical site where tumor progression began. Secondary (metastatic) site – cancer cells that have spread from the primary site to other parts of the body and formed secondary tumors.
Report each lesion separately; multiple excisions require a modifier. When the provider removes multiple lesions in a single visit, code each lesion separately, assigning specific CPT® and ICD-10-CM codes for every lesion treated, and report the most complex lesion first. Append modifier 59 Distinct procedural service to the second and all subsequent codes describing lesion excision in the same anatomic location.
When assigning CPT® codes 11400-11646, you must know both the size of the lesion (s) excised and the width of the margins (the area surrounding the lesion that is also removed). Per CPT® instructions, “Code selection is determined by measuring the greatest clinical diameter of the apparent lesion plus that [most narrow] margin required for complete excision.”
This is because the lesion will “shrink” as soon as the incision releases the tension on the skin.
Exception: If a surgeon performs a re-excision to obtain clear margins at a later operative session, you may report the same malignant diagnosis that you linked to the initial excision because the reason for the re-excision is malignancy.
When the physician excises multiple lesions, code each lesion separately, assigning a specific CPT® and ICD-10-CM code for every lesion treated. When coding for multiple excisions, you should append modifier 59 Distinct procedural service to the second and all subsequent codes describing lesion excision in the same anatomic location.