Wiki Multiple Mohs-Same Body Area

[Nickie]

I'm just learning Dermatolgoy coding and need some clarity on how to post multiple Mohs on same body area. A patient had 3 stages of Mohs on the right nasal sidewall (superior)-basal cell carcinoma and 3 stages of Mohs on the right nasal sidewall (inferior)-basal cell carcinoma. We are using dx code: 173.31. Flaps and closures were also done. The codes we have are:
17311
17312
17311
17312
15732
14061
14060

How would I code the multiple stages for each part of the nose? What modifiers would I use? Do I use units for the additional stages or list Mohs codes separately?

Thanks- I would appreciate and welcome suggestions!

 

[Texascoder64]

(site A)17311
(site B)17311 -76 (unless your carriers prefer -59) in TX medicare accepts76 mod
17312 x 4 units (some carriers will limit the add'l stages to 3 units- if it denies with 4 units then you have to add another 17312 with x1 with -59 mod

then with the rest of your closure codes.

the other thing to watch for in the op note is each stage is for up to 5 Blocks, so if any given stage exceeds 5 blocks, be sure to add 17315

 

[Nickie]

Thanks- your explanation was a great help!