# laser ablation



## heathermc (Jan 18, 2012)

Does anyone know what procedure code to use for CO2 laser ablation of vaginal dysplasia?  I was looking at 57061 but not sure...thanks


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## Captain74 (Jan 18, 2012)

*similar type question about CO2 laser*

I have a Plastic Surgeon who is going to be using a CO2 laser to ablate the skin of a patient's face.  This patient has and has had several (in the high double digits) lesions both malignant and pre-malignant on his face.  Rather than make the patient endure repeated excisions, the doctor has opted to use this laser on the patient entire face.  The problem is that we don't have a code for this.

The patient will be in the OR for the procedure due to the complexity although some patients may have this done in the office.

The procedure is similar to dermal abrasion, but using a laser and because the code for dermal abrasion is specific to using a rotary instrument we can't use 15780.  The destruction code, 17004, doesn't really apply since we aren't counting the number of lesions even though the patient has many.  What we need is a code for ablation that covers a surface area rather than a specific number of lesions.

Additionally, we would also be using this for scar revisions.

Any suggestions?

Thanks


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