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Radiology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Biopsies of Separate Lesions

Published on Wed Aug 01, 2001

Question: During a breast biopsy procedure, our radiologist biopsied two different lesions in the same breast. Can we report the code twice?

Massachusetts Subscriber
 
Answer: Yes, it would be appropriate to bill both biopsies if the tissue samples were taken from two different lesions. For instance, if a Tru-cut needle is used for the biopsy, report 19102 twice (biopsy of breast; percutaneous, needle core, using imaging guidance). Also, the guidance code could be assigned twice for example, 76942 (ultrasonic guidance for needle placement [e.g., biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device], imaging supervision and interpretation).

If, however, multiple samples are taken from a single lesion, the codes should be reported only once.
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