New Debridement Codes Detail Location
Published on Sat Jan 01, 2005
When your ob-gyn performs debridement of the external genitalia and perineum skin for necrotizing soft tissue infection, you'll have three new codes to choose from:
11004 - Debridement of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and fascia for necrotizing soft tissue infection; external genitalia and perineum
11006 - ... external genitalia, perineum and abdominal wall, with or without fascial closure
+11008 - Removal of prosthetic material or mesh, abdominal wall for necrotizing soft tissue infection (list separately in addition to code for primary procedure).
The addition of these debridement codes that specify soft tissue and location will only improve the level of specificity in our coding, says Linda Martien, CPC, CPC-H, coding consultant at National Healthcare Review Inc. in Woodland Hills, Calif.