Dermatology Coding Alert

Question: My dermatologist performed a lesion excision along with a tissue transfer. Which CPT® codes should we report?

Kansas Subscriber

Answer: Based on your description, you should probably report 14040 (Adjacent tissue transfer or rearrangement, forehead, cheeks, chin, mouth, neck, axillae, genitalia, hands and/or feet; defect 10 sq cm or less) or 14041 (... defect 10.1 sq cm to 30.0 sq cm).

If the dermatologist performs a lesion excision along with an adjacent tissue transfer at the same site, you should not separately report the lesion excision, according to CPT® Assistant.

"The guidelines of the Adjacent Tissue Transfer or Rearrangement section state that codes 14000-14300 include the excision (including lesion) and/or repair by adjacent tissue transfer or rearrangement," CPT® Assistant states.