# Us axilla



## RADCODER (Jun 12, 2012)

An US tech and a radiologist are having a disagreement, perhaps someone else could shed some light on the situation? This is what the Tech e-mailed me.. 

"The patient presented with a palpable lump in her axilla. We charged as a non vascular extremity. Although it is near breast tissue, technically it is in the extremity. Can u please let me know what the correct charges for this would be." 

I did look at my 2012 US Coder book from MEDLEARN and in the back there is a place for FAQ's. The question was.. 
Q. When performing an ultrasound of the axilla should we report code76882 or code 76645? 
A. If the ultrasound is performed in conjunction with a breast ultrasound it would be included in 76645. 

If performed to look at soft tissue mass/lipoma/abscess not related to the breast, report code 76882.” 

Does anyone else have any input? I have been searching high and low for some credible documentation. 
Thanks!


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## donnajrichmond (Jun 12, 2012)

RADCODER said:


> An US tech and a radiologist are having a disagreement, perhaps someone else could shed some light on the situation? This is what the Tech e-mailed me..
> 
> "The patient presented with a palpable lump in her axilla. We charged as a non vascular extremity. Although it is near breast tissue, technically it is in the extremity. Can u please let me know what the correct charges for this would be."
> 
> ...



The MedLearn FAQ is based on a Q & A in the ACR Radiology Coding Source, Jan/Feb 2008 (although the extremity code changed since that Q & A).  Coding Source archives and search can be found at http://gm.acr.org/Hidden/Economics/FeaturedCategories/Pubs/coding_source/archives.aspx


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## Susan Carter CPC (Jun 13, 2012)

according to the ACR ultrasound soft tissue axilla usse 76881/76882


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