You Be the Coder:
Weigh In on Uterus Quandary
Published on Mon Feb 23, 2009
Question: We have Ob/Gyn clients who are asking for the weight of uterine specimens apart from the tubes and ovaries. Why is this important, and should our pathologists separate the uterus, tubes, and ovaries for the exam? Washington Subscriber Answer: CPT distinguishes several surgical codes for uterine specimens based on the weight of the organ. For instance, CPT provides surgical codes for vaginal hysterectomy based on the mass as follows: - 58260 -- Vaginal hysterectomy, for uterus 250 g or less; - 58262 -- - with removal of tube(s) and/or ovary(s) - 58290 -- Vaginal hysterectomy, for uterus greater than 250 g; - 58291 -- - with removal of tube(s) and/or ovary(s). Based on the surgical approach and uterine portion removed, CPT makes the same weight distinction for three other sets of codes with or without removal of tube(s) and/or ovary(s) (58451-58544, 58550-58554, and 58570-58573). You can see that the weight the surgeon uses [...]
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