Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

You can cut your eyelid lesion excisions coding time by glancing at this chart which will put you in the right ballpark.

If the ophthalmologist removes more than skin in the process of removing the eyelid lesion, use one of these codes:

• 67800 -- Excision of chalazion; single

• 67801 -- ... multiple, same lid

• 67805 -- ... multiple, different lids

• 67808 -- ... under general anesthesia and/or requiring hospitalization, single or multiple

• 67810 -- Biopsy of eyelid (The physician excises a small amount of tissue from the suspect portion of the eyelid)

• 67840 -- Excision of lesion of eyelid (except chalazion) without closure or with simple direct closure

• 67850 -- Destruction of lesion of lid margin (up to 1 cm)

• 68020 -- Incision of conjunctiva, drainage of cyst

• 68100 -- Biopsy of conjunctiva

• 68110 -- Excision of lesion, conjunctiva; up to 1 cm

• 68115 -- .... over 1 cm

• 68130 -- ... with adjacent sclera

• 68135 -- Destruction of lesion, conjunctiva.

For eyelid lesion removal involving mainly eyelid skin, use lesion removal codes 11440-11446, 11640-11646, or 11200-11201, based on the following:

• benign (114xx)

• malignant (116xx)

• skin tags (11200 -- up to 15; and 11201 -- more than 15).