Know the Difference Between These Turbinate Surgery Codes
Question: What is the correct way to code the following op note? I am having some difficulty: “The left inferior turbinate was infractured and grasped with a hemostat at the junction of the inferior and middle thirds. The hemostat was released and endoscopic scissors were used to resected the inferior third along the impression made by the hemostat.” AAPC Forum Participant Based on the documentation you have provided, the correct code for this would appear to be 30140 (Submucous resection inferior turbinate, partial or complete, any method), though you should go back to your provider to confirm this. The procedure described by 30140 requires an incision into the mucosa of the inferior turbinate, which the surgeon elevates from the turbinate bone, allowing them to excise the bone while preserving the mucosa. During this procedure, the surgeon may resect some of the lateral turbinate mucosa; then, they will replace any remaining mucosa over the bare bone of the remaining turbinate. If this is not what your provider did, you might want to confirm with them if they removed all or part of the turbinate, excising or cutting out both the mucosa and bone entirely, and whether they made an incision into the mucosa to resect the turbinate. If that is the case, then you may want to report 30130 (Excision inferior turbinate, partial or complete, any method). Again, these are questions you should ask your provider before assigning a code for the surgery. Bruce Pegg, BA, MA, CPC, CFPC, Managing Editor, AAPC
