# blunt dissection vs  incision and drainage



## pmedley (Aug 6, 2008)

Physician has done procedure in office- blunt dissection with local anesthetic to remove purulent material vs divitalized tissue.   Patient presented with 1 cm opening with 2 mm surrounding erythema.   Any ideas on which code would work best.  Not actually I&D 10060.  Would it be best to use unlisted code 17999?


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## mbort (Aug 6, 2008)

what about a debridement code?  11040-11044?


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## jas0426 (Aug 6, 2008)

I would think debridement too.


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## BAB (Aug 7, 2008)

I think you need to ask the doctor for clarification.  Ultimately, they are responsible for coding correctly.  If if it an abscess, then an I&D code would be most appropriate. If an excisional debridement is done, the physician has to document the level (the procedure note should support what ever code or codes that are chosen). 

Pam Littlefield, RN, CWS


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