Reader Question:
Take Into Account Mole Removal's Location, Size
Published on Mon Aug 06, 2012
Question: I can't seem to fit "removal of mole" with any of the existing CPT® codes. Please help me identify it.Wyoming Subscriber Answer: For simple removal of a mole, (meaning without destruction), you'll want to first determine the method of removal as either shave removal (11300-11313) or benign excision (11400-11446).If the procedure was a shave removal, choose the appropriate code (11300-11313) according to both the location and size of the lesion. Be sure to measure the size of the lesion prior to removal. If your physician shaved a 1.5 cm lesion from a patient's neck, you would report 11307 (Shaving of epidermal or dermal lesion, single lesion, scalp, neck, hands, feet, genitalia; lesion diameter 1.1 to 2.0 cm). If the method of removal was by excision, choose from among the codes for "excision of a benign lesion" (11400-11446). Select the appropriate code according to both the location and size of the excised [...]