Wiki Coding issue

[mconnolly]

My OBGYN did a procedure in the office and I cannot find an appropriate code. The patient had a cone biopsy and went back to the ER the next day for postop bleeding, at that time they applied silver nitrate and packed the vagina. 2 days later, still bleeding and went to office where the surgeon stitched the cervix. Can anyone tell me what code I should use for this procedure, we originally billed 57720, but that is not paid in an office place of service. I would appreciate any advise.

Thanks.

 

[ajs]

There are codes in the 12011-12021 section for simple Repair of superficial wounds of mucous membranes, or 12051-12057 for intermediate Repair of wounds, that could be used to accommodate this type of repair. They are all based on the size of the repair so you would need to know the length, which I imagine was not very long. Also, 12020 is simple closure of wound dehiscence and that could certainly work for this situation.

 

[AMBERRUIZ]

What was the original code you billed? If you billed out a 57520 for the Cone Biopsy, there is a global period of 90 days for that procedure. Some insurance companies, even if there is a problem after the procedure that you feel you can bill for, will not pay for anything within the global period.