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Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Case Study:

Separate Elective Nose Jobs From Covered Rhinoplasties by Looking for These Clues

Published on Thu Feb 19, 2009

Your answers to this nose repair could capture $1,247 in pay. You-ve got to nail down when a nasal fracture repair turns into a rhinoplasty, or you could miss pre-certifying the rhinoplasty as a medically necessary procedure. Here's your scenario: A patient has a history of trauma to his nose that has resulted in severe deformities and he has trouble breathing. Your ENT decides it's time to rebuild the nose extensively. Even though the procedures could cause blindness and cerebrospinal fluid leak, the patient agrees. In the following subscriber-submitted op note, the ENT is treating a patient who has trouble breathing due to trauma and scarring to the nose. But it's not a recent break; troublesome scar tissue has formed and deformed septal cartilage resists straightening. Longer Time Frame Points to Functional Repair The office where Julie Keene, CPC, CENTC, works has been in a debate over a similar case. [...]
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