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Watch crosswalks for node excision
Published on Thu Mar 01, 2007
Question: What surgical and anesthesia codes apply to supraclavicular lymph node excision? Washington Subscribe
Answer: CPT includes several surgical codes for excision approaches and the specific nodes treated. The correct surgical code for supraclavicular lymph node excision is 38500 (Biopsy or excision of lymph node[s]; open, superficial).
This crosses to anesthesia codes 00320 (Anesthesia for all procedures on esophagus, thyroid, larynx, trachea and lymphatic system of neck; not otherwise specified, age 1 year or older) and 00540 (Anesthesia for thoracotomy procedures involving lungs, pleura, diaphragm and mediastinum [including surgical thoracoscopy]; not otherwise specified). Base your coding on whether the surgeon performed a thoracotomy.
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