Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

Question: The podiatrist performed a surgical removal of a corn on the patient’s left foot using a scalpel and local anesthesia. I looked in my CPT® manual, but I am confused because I see several corn removal codes. How do I know which one is correct?

Wisconsin Subscriber

Answer: You should report 11055 (Paring or cutting of benign hyperkeratotic lesion (eg, corn or callus); single lesion) for this procedure because, according to the medical documentation, your podiatrist removed just one, single corn (or lesion).

On the other hand, if your podiatrist removes more than one corn or callus, you should turn to the following codes:

• 11056 (Paring or cutting of benign hyperkeratotic lesion (eg, corn or callus); 2 to 4 lesions)
• 11057 (…. more than 4 lesions).