General Surgery Coding Alert

Question: How should we code a pulse-dye laser used to treat a patient's surgical scar?

Louisiana Subscriber

Answer: The most descriptive code is 17110 (Destruction [e.g., laser surgery, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, chemosurgery, surgical curettement), of benign lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions; up to 14 lesions). This code includes laser destruction of scar tissue.

Coverage for this procedure might depend on the diagnosis. For instance payers might cover laser destruction of a keloid scar (701.4) or a scar that caused a medical problem such as pain or limited range of motion.

Payers may consider laser destruction of scar tissue cosmetic, in many cases. You should check the rules from your frequent payers to determine what conditions they cover for laser scar destruction.

Caution: You should report the most accurate ICD-9 code that describes the patient's condition. Never select a diagnosis code simply to ensure that you'll get paid.