You Be the Coder:
Nosebleed Cautery
Published on Sat Jun 01, 2002
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Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.
Question: I have been using 17250* for a cautery of a nosebleed. However, I just learned about 30901*, and I think that is more appropriate. What is the difference?
Virginia Subscriber
Answer: Code 30901* (Control nasal hemorrhage, anterior, simple [limited cautery and/or packing] any method) is the correct code for cautery of a nosebleed.
Code 17250* (Chemical cauterization of granulation tissue [proud flesh, sinus or fistula]) is a skin destruction code. It is used for the destruction of abnormal or excessive granulation tissue which is material that is formed in the wound healing process. Sometimes, excessive granulation tissue forms in the healing process. When this happens, the excessive tissue is known as "proud flesh." In 17250*, a chemical, often silver nitrate, is used to destroy the excess tissue.
You can avoid errors in code selection by remembering that the first step in code selection is to consult the index when selecting an ICD-9 or a CPT code. In this instance, looking in the CPT index under the condition (either nasal bleeding or epistaxis), the anatomic site (nose, hemorrhage, cauterization) or the procedure (cauterization [nose]) would have led you to the correct code.
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