For removal of tissue expand- er and placement with a breast implant, use CPT code 11970. Codes 19340 and 19342 can both be separately reportable with a flap, including latissimus dorsi flap.
Tissue expanders are used after a mastectomy to increase the amount of tissue doctors have to work with when they're recreating or implanting a breast. They may be placed during a mastectomy or in a second surgery after you've healed and finished cancer treatment.
Z45.81ICD-10 Code for Encounter for adjustment or removal of breast implant- Z45. 81- Codify by AAPC.
In some cases, an implant is placed during the same surgery that removes the breast. In other cases, a tissue expander is inserted right after the breast is removed. The expander is used to stretch the skin to make room for the implant. This stretching happens over a period of months.
During your exchange surgery, your surgeon will use the same incisions (surgical cuts) from your mastectomy. They'll remove your tissue expander and replace it with the permanent breast implant you choose with your plastic surgeon. Your exchange surgery will take about 1 hour for each side.
Tissue Expansion is a procedure performed to promote the growth of healthy supplementary skin used for the replacement of damaged skin. This reconstructive procedure is an option for almost any area of the body, allowing plastic surgeons to repair skin damaged by both congenital and acquired defects.
The CPT code for removing a tissue expander in the office is the same as it is if the TE was removed in the hospital – the physician reports 11971 (Removal of tissue expander(s) without insertion of prosthesis).
89.
Ruptured silicone breast implants can cause breast pain or changes in the contour or shape of the breast. However, ruptured silicone breast implants aren't thought to cause breast cancer, reproductive problems or connective tissue disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
But keeping the fluid filled expander means that you don't need to have a second operation. If you are having the expander left in, your surgeon inflates it until it is slightly larger than your natural size. They leave it for 2 to 3 months.
The tissue expander is put in place right after the breast is removed. To stabilize the tissue expander, it is placed under AlloDerm tissue, which is sewn from the pectoralis major muscle to the chest wall.
Mine are definitely a bit smaller. My plastic surgeon explained that the expander is much harder (like a water ballon, but the implant have a more natural, softer feel. So it is more spread out.