Dermatology Coding Alert

Question: Should I report 15000 for site preparation/ excision of basal cell carcinoma with 15732? If not, please tell me which codes 15000 should correspond with.

New York Subscriber

Answer: No, you should not report 15000 (Surgical preparation or creation of a recipient site by excision of open wounds, burn eschar, or scar...) when you report 15732 (Muscle, myocutaneous, or fasciocutaneous flap; head and neck [e.g., temporalis, masseter muscle, sternocleidomastoid, levator scapulae]). You should report 15732 for additional site preparation.

CPT tells us that coders should report 15000 for initial wound preparation for autogenous skin grafts. In your case example, the excision of the basal cell carcinoma would in itself prepare the site for the graft.