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Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Count Frozens Per Block

Published on Mon May 10, 2010

Question: How should I code a lung lobectomy specimen, including two frozens -- one on the bronchial margin and one on a block from the central tumor mass for preliminary diagnosis?Tennessee SubscriberAnswer: The correct code for the pathologist's exam of the lobectomy specimen is 88309 (Level VI -- Surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination, lung - total/lobe/segment resection). For the frozen sections, you should report 88331 (Pathology consultation during surgery; first tissue block, with frozen section[s], single specimen) and 88332 (... each additional tissue block with frozen section[s]).CPT lists three lung specimen codes -- 88309, 88307 (Level V -- Surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination, lung, wedge biopsy) and 88305 (... transbronchial biopsy).Because the listed specimen is "lobectomy," you can see that biopsy codes 88305 and 88307 are not appropriate. In contrast, the 88309 definition includes "lung lobe" resection as one of the specimen options.Code frozens per block: Because the pathologist examines two distinct [...]
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