Surgery Integumentary, 19318, 19350 (Q&A) (September 1996)

September 1996 page 10a Coding Consultation Surgery Integumentary, 19318, 19350 (Q&A) Question In the August 1996 CPT Assistant Coding Consultation section, you answered a question concerning a reduction mammaplasty and grafting of the nipple-areolar complex. Your response has raised many questions in our office, will you please clarify it for us? AMA Comment Nipple-areolar preservation and repositioning in typical breast reduction surgery (reduction mammaplasty) is included in the global code, 19318 , and is not coded separately. Nipple-areolar preservation whether by vascular pedicle or by free grafting is considered part of a reduction mammaplasty. However, in rare instances, when...

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Note:  The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.

Article Overview

This CPT Assistant Q&A discusses coding considerations for an uncommon intraoperative breast reduction situation and the documentation needed to support the reported service. It is relevant to coders, billers, and surgical coding auditors who work with integumentary surgery and breast procedures and need to understand how the article frames the relationship between the main procedure and an associated grafting service.

Why This Topic Matters

Breast reduction cases can involve unexpected operative changes, and this article explains the coding context for those circumstances in a way that affects claim accuracy and documentation review.

Article Sections

  1. Coding Consultation

    Introduces the coding question and frames the procedure context discussed in the article.

  2. Question

    Presents the reader’s concern about a prior CPT Assistant response and requests clarification.

  3. AMA Comment

    Provides the editorial guidance on how the scenario is characterized and notes the documentation considerations discussed by the AMA.

What You Will Learn

  • The article’s focus within integumentary surgery coding guidance
  • How the article frames an unusual breast reduction scenario
  • What kinds of documentation support are discussed for surgical coding review
  • How CPT Assistant presents clarification questions and AMA commentary

Who Should Read This

  • Medical coders
  • Coding auditors
  • Surgical billers
  • Compliance staff
  • Physician documentation staff

Codes Discussed

Modifiers Discussed


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