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Orthopedic Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Do Not Treat Accessory Soleus as Soft Tissue Tumor

Published on Sun Oct 14, 2012

Question: How do we code for excision of accessory soleus muscle in leg? Can we report this as excision of soft tissue tumor?Florida SubscriberAnswer:  An accessory soleus muscle may clinically present as a soft-tissue mass in the posteromedial aspect of the ankle. There is no specific code to report this condition. You will be wrong to report code 27634 (Excision, tumor, soft tissue of leg or ankle area, subfascial [e.g., intramuscular]; 5 cm or greater) or 27619 (Excision, tumor, soft tissue of leg or ankle area, subfascial [e.g., intramuscular]; less than 5 cm) as the soft tissue mass is not a tumor. The best is to report this with unlisted procedure code 27899 (Unlisted procedure, leg or ankle).
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