Wiki debridement-can anyone help?

[codelady]

can anyone help? Dr did a debridement of skin full thickness on two toes (T1 and T6).

How would that be coded? 11042 seperately with the approp modifiers or once with mod 51 and T1 and T6?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mitchellde]

you do not use toe modifiers for skin debridements. so do
11042
11042 59 51

 

[lelswick]

Each full thickness debridement should be reported with CPT 11041 if the physician documented an excisional debridement. Modifier 59 should be appended to one of the debridements along with the T1 and T6 modifiers to the location of the wounds that were debrided.

 

[mitchellde]

Whichever code documentation supports 11041 or 11042 with a 59 on the second, but no to the T modifiers. Skin is one continuous organ which has no single identifiable sites just separate places. So you you use the 59 to show separate site of the same organ. Skin is not part of the toe it is skin.

 

[LINZSEY]

The skin, toenail, subcutaneous tissue, muscles and bone all together comprise the toe. I believe the T-modifiers should be used because they describe the location of the debridement, whereas the
1104X codes only capture the depth of the debridement

That's my thought

Patricia Linzsey, CPC, CEMC

 

[mitchellde]

Patricia, from an anatomical perspective skin is not part of the toe. The T modifiers are anatomical modifiers and as such are not applicable to skin areas. Skin is one continuous organ it has different sites but it does not have toes it covers the toes, it is not part of the toe.

 

[santelizmar]

Patricia, from an anatomical perspective skin is not part of the toe. The T modifiers are anatomical modifiers and as such are not applicable to skin areas. Skin is one continuous organ it has different sites but it does not have toes it covers the toes, it is not part of the toe.

I believe that The T modifier is only required for medicare patients any other insurance doesn't requiere the modifier.