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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Do Not Mistake Osteoma for Osteomyelitis

Published on Mon Oct 22, 2012

Question: How do we report removal of exostosis (osteoma) of forehead under general in OR? Is code 21026 (Excision of bone [e.g., for osteomyelitis or bone abscess]; facial bone[s]) an appropriate choice?North Carolina SubscriberAnswer: You are not correct in reporting code 21026 for removal of exostosis of forehead. The best code for this is 61500 (Craniectomy; with excision of tumor or other bone lesion of skull). Since 61500 also specifies 'other bone lesion of skull,' you may select it to report exostosis which is actually a bony outgrowth.
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