AHA Coding Clinic® for HCPCS - 2022 Issue 1; Ask the Editor

Integumentary or musculoskeletal excision

A patient presented for wide excision of melanoma located on the back. The lesion, 4 x 3 cm on the right lateral back, was marked identifying 1 cm margins. The skin incision was made and dissection was taken down through subcutaneous fat to muscular fascia, which served as the deep border. The specimen was excised and the wound was primarily closed.      Since melanoma is of cutaneous origin, is the excision of a melanoma always reported with an integumentary excision code, or if a melanoma extends down into a deeper layer such as the fascia/muscle, is it reported with a musculoskeletal excision code? ...

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