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Question: A patient returned to our surgeon after previously having a thyroidectomy. The surgeon removed returning cancer from the thyroid bed. Should I code this as 60220, 60240, or 60260?

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Answer: Picking the correct code for this procedure requires that you understand the differences among the thyroidectomy codes. Fortunately, CPT^® Assistant clarified those differences in a recent article (Volume 35, Issue 8, August 2025):

• 60220 (Total thyroid lobectomy, unilateral; with or without isthmusectomy) is the correct code to use for a hemi-thyroidectomy, where the surgeon removes one lobe of the patient’s thyroid, allowing the remaining portion to continue producing hormones
• 60240 (Thyroidectomy, total or complete) describes “the removal of the entire thyroid gland during one surgical event with no history of previous thyroid surgery,” according to CPT^® Assistant
• 60260 (Thyroidectomy, removal of all remaining thyroid tissue following previous removal of a portion of thyroid), also known as a completion thyroidectomy, describes the “removal of all remaining thyroid tissue because a previously operated side has been explored and all gross thyroid tissue has been removed from its native bed,” per CPT^® Assistant.

Note that the CPT^® Assistant article clarifies you would also use this code when the surgeon performs a partial thyroidectomy on one thyroid lobe and a complete thyroidectomy on the contralateral lobe.

In your particular case, the key to correctly coding the scenario lies in the provider’s note stating that the patient had previously had a thyroidectomy and was returning to have the rest of the thyroid tissue removed. This points to 60260 as the correct code for this encounter.

Bruce Pegg, BA, MA, CPC, CFPC, Managing Editor, AAPC