tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2018 Issue 7

Reader Question: Zero in on Known Diagnosis

Question: Our surgeon performed a fine-needle aspiration of the spleen for a patient diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The pathology report noted an “intrafollicular growth pattern suggestive of follicular lymphoma,” and stated that the specimen was sent to an outside lab for further cytogenetic testing. Should we report the diagnosis as C85.90 since we don’t have a confirmed diagnosis from the pathology report? SuperCoder Subscriber Answer: For this situation, the best code choice is C85.99 (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, unspecified, extranodal and solid organ sites) rather than the code you suggested (C85.90, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, unspecified...

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