tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2003 Issue 8

You Be The Coder: Can 10160 Include Seroma Drainage?

Reviewed on May 6, 2015 Question: Our surgeon drains breast seromas using a large syringe. This is technically not an incision and drainage procedure, but the only available breast code (19000) specifies Puncture aspiration of cyst of breast, and we are not aspirating a cyst, either. I think 10160 describes the procedure best, but that code description does not include seromas. What should I do? Minnesota SubscriberAnswer: Although the descriptor does not include the term seroma, 10160 (Puncture aspiration of abscess, hematoma, bulla or cyst), as you suggest, does best describe drainage of seroma using a syringe. You’re...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.


Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1999 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • tci General Surgery Coding Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.