Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: The pathologist examines a "simple prostatectomy" specimen with four right-pelvic lymph nodes. I know that "radical resections" often include lymph nodes, so should we code this as 88309?Utah SubscriberAnswer: No, you should not code this case as 88309 (Level VI -- Surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination, prostate, radical resection).Instead, you should report the case as follows:88307 -- Level V -- Surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination, prostate, except radical resection88307 -- ... lymph nodes, regional resection.Lymph nodes are separate: Although you're correct to state that lymph nodes are bundled with many radical resection specimens, such as total mastectomy, that's not the case for prostate. The surgeon does not typically remove regional lymph nodes associated with the prostate, so you should code those separately if the pathologist examines them. If the pathologist examines two regional lymph resections, such as the left and right pelvic lymph nodes, you can report two units of [...]