Urology Coding Alert
Exclude Bladder Lesion Margins
Question: How does coding for skin lesion removal and bladder tumor removal differ?
Connecticut Subscriber
Answer: The key difference between coding for skin and bladder lesion removal is the role of the wide margin in determining the size of the lesion.
The 2003 CPT skin lesion measurement guidelines indicate that the diameter of a lesion is calculated by adding the diameter of the lesion and the sizes of the margins. Calculating the measurement of bladder lesions, however, is strictly limited to the diameter of the lesion or tumor itself, not including the wide margins. Typically, the urologist will cauterize the entire area around the tumor, and according to CPT guidelines , the entire area of cautery is not to be included in the measurement of the bladder lesion.
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Exclude Bladder Lesion Margins
Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the [...]
