Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: Can we separately bill code 30117 when our healthcare provider carries out a reduction of the nasal swell body (NSB) on the nasal septal mucosa in the same session as an inferior turbinate ablation, coded to 30801 or 30802?

Florida Subscriber

Answer: Yes, you may report CPT^® code 30117 (Excision or destruction (eg, laser), intranasal lesion; internal approach) in combination with 30801 (Ablation, soft tissue of inferior turbinates, unilateral or bilateral, any method … superficial) or 30802 (… intramural (ie, submucosal)). You can separately bill for the NSB reduction, as the removal of nasal lesions is not a built-in part of either the superficial or intramural inferior turbinate ablation.

Also, since neither of these codes are subject to a National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) procedure-to-procedure (PTP) edit, a provider may report both procedures together without adding a modifier.

Remember: If your provider also carries out a septoplasty, which is coded as 30520 (Septoplasty or submucous resection, with or without cartilage scoring, contouring or replacement with graft), along with the excision/destruction to minimize the septal mucosal NSB, you should only bill for the ablation and the septoplasty. Because the procedure outlined in code 30117 is already included in code 30520, it should not be billed separately.

Lindsey Bush, BA, MA, CPC, Development Editor, AAPC