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General Surgery Coding Alert

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Clarify ‘Pleural Drainage’ Procedure

Published on Fri Jan 21, 2022

Question: We have an op note in which the surgeon drained pleural fluid and performed a needle pleural biopsy in the same session. Should we code the drainage service as 32554, and can we add a biopsy code? Texas Subscriber Answer: Without the details from the op note, it’s difficult to know how to code the drainage. If the surgeon [...]
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