tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2023 Issue Q3

Reader Questions: Know When to Lead With Z Code

Question: Our surgeon performed a complex repair for a scar revision a year after the patient had a procedure for a facial neoplasm resection. We billed for the procedure using 13132 and diagnosis code C43.39. Why might we have received a denial? Texas subscriber Answer: The misstep was using the ICD-10-CM code for the cancer as the principal diagnosis. When a surgeon performs reconstruction or scar revision surgery following a healed neoplasm resection, you should code the reconstruction as the reason for the test. In this case, instead of reporting the diagnosis as C43.39 (Malignant melanoma of...

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