Wiki Units

[nc_coder]

Specimens submitted and grossed:
Gastric body and antrum biopsy : The specimen is in 4 pieces, 2-4 mm (1 block)
Esophageal stricture biopsy: The specimen is in one piece (1 block)
Ascending colon polyp: The specimen is one piece (1 block)
Rectal polyp x2: The specimen is one piece (1 block)

How many units of 88305?

 

[nkovar]

Assuming these were submitted as 4 separate specimens (and the final diagnoses qualify for 88305’s) it should be 88305x4.

 

[nc_coder]

Assuming these were submitted as 4 separate specimens (and the final diagnoses qualify for 88305’s) it should be 88305x4.

Thank you nkovar for your response. I am new to surgical pathology and was confused by the "pieces". So, I should be paying attention to the blocks and not the pieces. Correct?

 

[nkovar]

Thank you nkovar for your response. I am new to surgical pathology and was confused by the "pieces". So, I should be paying attention to the blocks and not the pieces. Correct?

I think the short answer to that is yes. We go by specimens (which then can be broken down into blocks depending on how large the specimen is) You may have a specimen in the future that is submitted in multiple blocks. I.e. if you have a larger adenoma that would be submitted on A1 and A2, this would still only qualify as one 88305 as it is the same specimen.
I hope that helps a bit!!