tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2015 Issue 3

Reader Question: Distinguish Simple, Intermediate, Complex Closure

Question: The surgeon repaired an 8.3 cm gash on a patient’s chest. The wound was very deep, involving subcutaneous tissue and superficial fascia in addition to the skin. The surgeon preformed a multiple-layer closure. How should I code this? SuperCoder Subscriber Answer:The correct code for this procedure is 12034 (Repair, intermediate, wounds of scalp, axillae, trunk and/or extremities [excluding hands and feet]; 7.6 cm to 12.5 cm). Because the wound repair involves multi-layer closure of tissues extending into subcutaneous tissue, you need to use an intermediate repair code. Once you’ve settled on intermediate repair...

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