tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2003 Issue 3

Watch Incision versus Margins When Calculating Diameter

When calculating excision diameter, be careful not to confuse the length of the incision with margins. The surgeon may make incisions of varying sizes depending on lesion type and location, as well as the closure method used, but the incision's size should not affect code selection for the lesion. Often, the physician will make an incision that is longer than the lesion because "the longer you make that ellipse, the flatter your scar is going to be," but this has no bearing on code selection, says Allan Wirtzer, MD, a dermatologist in private practice at Mid-Valley Dermatology in...

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.