Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Documentation of the removal method is essential to picking the right code. When your ophthalmologist removes lesions from a patient's eyelids, you're faced with a coding dilemma that you can solve only by examining the physician's notes. You need to decide if the procedure is an integumentary procedure or an eyelid surgery procedure. The answer determines whether you should flip to codes 11440-11446 (Excision, other benign lesion including margins, except skin tag [unless listed elsewhere], face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, mucous membrane ...) in your CPT® manual or if you should instead look at 67840 (Excision of lesion of eyelid [except chalazion] without closure or with simple direct closure). Your code selection depends on the number, location, type and size of the lesions. Follow these expert tips to help make the right choice every time. Watch for Margin Details First step: Dig into your ophthalmologist's procedure documentation to determine which [...]