01/16/2019

Correct Coding for Shaving a Skin Lesion for Pathological Analysis-Diabetic Patient (No Anesthesia)

I shaved a skin lesion on a patient for pathological analysis;simple no anesthesia. What i the proper code? He's diabetic as well

The correct CPT code would depend on the method of the skin biopsy- the following  code should be billed:

• 11102 - Tangential biopsy of skin (eg, shave, scoop, saucerize, curette); single lesion

Lay Description (Code): The physician removes a biopsy sample of skin, subcutaneous tissue, and/or mucous membrane strictly for the purpose of performing a diagnostic histopathologic study under a microscope. Skin biopsies are reported based on one of three techniques used: tangential, punch, or incisional. Tangential technique describes a biopsy performed via a sharp blade to obtain a superficial, epidermal tissue specimen that may or may not include sections of underlying dermis and does not involve a full-thickness biopsy. Punch technique involves the use of a specific punch tool to obtain a full-thickness, barrel-shaped, or columnar-shaped specimen.