Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I'm a bit confused. When reporting a foreign body removal of the nose, would I use the CPT® code 30300? I also see an ICD-9 code for nasal foreign body removal of 98.12. I was told not to code the 30300 by one person, but then I was told I should code it by another. The physician used tweezers to remove a bead from a child's nostril.

New York Subscriber

Answer: The second person you spoke with is correct. The appropriate CPT® code in this case is 30300 (Removal foreign body, intranasal; office type procedure) to describe your physician's service.

Code 98.12 (Removal of intraluminal foreign body from nose without incision) is an ICD-9 procedure code, not a diagnosis code. The appropriate ICD-9 diagnosis in this situation is 932 (Foreign body in nose).