I always have difficulty determining the best ICD9 code for the following scenario:
Specimen A- skin excision of right lateral temple with dx of invasive basal cell carcinoma
Specimen B- skin excision of scalp with dx of invasive squamous cell carcinoma
Specimen C-skin excision of shoulder with dx of squamous cell carcinoma in situ
I'd like to believe this is appropriate to code
173.31
173.42
I feel like I should not code 173.81 and 173.82 for other specified site of the skin since I know the specific site. But do I apply the code for the specific type of carcinoma and site for each site? Sometimes I may even received even more sites than 2 or 3. I am lead to believe that I do not code for the in site since I have invasive identified although the in situ is a 3rd site.
Is there a rule of thumb for this scenario?
Specimen A- skin excision of right lateral temple with dx of invasive basal cell carcinoma
Specimen B- skin excision of scalp with dx of invasive squamous cell carcinoma
Specimen C-skin excision of shoulder with dx of squamous cell carcinoma in situ
I'd like to believe this is appropriate to code
173.31
173.42
I feel like I should not code 173.81 and 173.82 for other specified site of the skin since I know the specific site. But do I apply the code for the specific type of carcinoma and site for each site? Sometimes I may even received even more sites than 2 or 3. I am lead to believe that I do not code for the in site since I have invasive identified although the in situ is a 3rd site.
Is there a rule of thumb for this scenario?