My provider is submitting code 21555 (Excision, tumor, soft tissue of neck or anterior thorax, subcutaneous; less than 3 cm) with dx L72.3 his note states that he excised a cyst. (see below) The pathology report also says Epidermoid inclusion cyst. My question is: Can a cyst be considered a tumor and is 21555 the correct code for its excision? I am thinking that the code should be 11403. Any thought would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Procedure: Excision chest cyst:
The skin surrounding the anterior chest was prepped and draped in the standard sterile fashion. The site was injected with 15 cc 2% Xylocaine with epinephrine.
An elliptical incision was fashioned around the cyst and it was delivered intact. It measured 2.2 cm and was consistent with a sebaceous cyst. The skin and subcutaneous tissue was undermined to create skin flaps for closure. The wound was closed with interrupted 3-0 Vicryl to the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue with a running 4-0 Monocryl to the dermis. The site was dressed with Dermabond
Thank you,
Procedure: Excision chest cyst:
The skin surrounding the anterior chest was prepped and draped in the standard sterile fashion. The site was injected with 15 cc 2% Xylocaine with epinephrine.
An elliptical incision was fashioned around the cyst and it was delivered intact. It measured 2.2 cm and was consistent with a sebaceous cyst. The skin and subcutaneous tissue was undermined to create skin flaps for closure. The wound was closed with interrupted 3-0 Vicryl to the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue with a running 4-0 Monocryl to the dermis. The site was dressed with Dermabond