Wiki replacement of tissue expander with permanent prosthesis

[jenmar]

Hello...I have bilateral removal of tissue expanders with insertion of permanent implants. The encoder listed the procedure twice (11970). Do I report this code twice or can I list it once and use modifier 50. I have searched for the answer to no avail. Thanks for your help

 

[nsteinhauser]

It depends on the payer, if you're asking how to code it as a bilateral procedure. There 'should' be a 'providers manual' of some sort online on the payer's website and you can usually find how they want bilateral procedures coded. Some want one line with a -50.... some want 2 lines - for example - first line -RT, second line -59 -LT....... check with the payer. Hope this helps.