Radiology Coding Alert

Just like ICD-9, ICD-10 instructions will help you match documentation and code terminology. Your radiologist may use ultrasound or MRI to evaluate uterine fibroids or may perform uterine fibroid embolization. After Oct. 1, 2013, you'll need to have a new list of diagnosis codes in your arsenal to represent these benign tumors. That's when the switch from ICD- 9 to ICD-10 will be official. Background: Fibroids (or myomas) are larger than polyps and are usually embedded in the smooth muscle of the uterine wall. They almost always are benign, but in rare circumstances they can become a sarcoma (muscle cancer). Uterine fibroids occur in three main locations: Submucous fibroids (218.0, Submucous leiomyoma of uterus) grow from the uterine wall toward the uterine cavity. They are also called intracavitary fibroids. Intramural fibroids (218.1, Intramural leiomyoma of uterus), also called interstitial fibroids, grow within the uterine wall (myometrium). Subserous fibroids (218.2, Subserous [...]