General Surgery Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Beware of 11406 and 14000 Bundling

Question: A man has presented with a keloid from a cyst in sternal area of the chest from a removal 10 years ago. The keloid is 10 centimeters and the patient needs to keep it covered because of the irritation of rubbing against from his shirt. So the physician wants to do steroid injections with laser treatment for five sessions to reduce the volume of the keloid. Then he wants to excise it with a flap closure. The solution of steroid he is using is methylprednisolone acetate, approximately 3 ccs. I coded the excision as 11406 and used 14000 for the flap closure.However, I am totally unsure how to code the laser and steroid injection. What codes should I report? New Jersey Subscriber Answer: First, you cannot code 11406 (Excision,benign lesion including margins, except skin tag [unless listed elsewhere], trunk, arms, or legs; excised diameter over 4.0 cm) with 14000 [...]
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