Wiki Shave biopsy of lip

[TSheehan84]

Would you use 40490 or 11100 for a shave biopsy of the lip? Or another cpt? The site is just inside the mouth on the lip. I am reluctant to use 40490 as it wasn't an excision. Please help. Thanks.

 

[ellzeycoding]

40490 is a biopsy of a lip, not an excision. Use 40490.

The biopsy can be taken any method... punch, shave, or even scissor removal.

 

[TSheehan84]

40490 is a biopsy of a lip, not an excision. Use 40490.

The biopsy can be taken any method... punch, shave, or even scissor removal.

Thanks! I was questioning the 40490 as it was under the excision heading....

 

[JesseL]

Thanks! I was questioning the 40490 as it was under the excision heading....

I thought the same thing too

 

[CatchTheWind]

Apparently the heading shouldn't be taken too literally; it's just a place to park the code.

I learned this lesson very recently regarding ICD-10 codes when I was sure that the diagnosis code for abscess of the skin of the nose should be coded as L02.01 (cutaneous abscess of face) and not J34.0 (abscess of nose) because J34.0 is under the heading "Other diseases of upper respiratory tract." I figured that since the skin on the outside of the nose is not part of the upper respiratory tract, J34.0 couldn't be the correct code. But it is.