July 2012 page 12a Surgery: Integumentary System Question: What is the appropriate code to report for an excision of a malignant lesion on the wrist? Code 11600 , Excision, malignant lesion including margins, trunk, arms, or legs; excised diameter 0.5 cm or less, includes arms. Code 11620 , Excision, malignant lesion including margins, scalp, neck, hands, feet, genitalia; excised diameter 0.5 cm or less, includes hands. Answer: A code from the 11600 - 11606 code series may be reported based on the size of the excision (including margins). This anatomic usage is clarified in the Skin Substitutes guidelines in...
Note: The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.
Article Overview
This July 2012 Q&A from CPT Assistant addresses a coding question in the integumentary surgery section and explains the general CPT framework used to classify a wrist lesion excision. It is relevant to coders, auditors, and billers who work with surgical skin procedures and need to understand how CPT anatomical guidance is applied in this context.
Why This Topic Matters
Articles like this help coding professionals align procedure reporting with the correct CPT section guidance for anatomy-based lesion excisions, which can affect code selection and claim accuracy.
Article Sections
July 2012 page 12a
A brief Q&A in the integumentary surgery area discussing reporting considerations for a wrist lesion excision. The section points readers to related CPT guidance for anatomical classification.
What You Will Learn
The scope of the integumentary surgery question addressed in this Q&A
How the article frames CPT anatomical guidance for a wrist-related procedure
Which general CPT code family is discussed for malignant lesion excision reporting
Where the article says to look for supporting guidance in CPT 2012
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