Breast surgery can diagnose cancer, stage cancer, debulk cancer, cure or palliate cancer. We have close to 50 breast surgery codes and choosing the best one can be a challenge sometimes. Gaining a better understanding can assist with coding.
A Partial Mastectomy is a general term for Breast-Sparing surgery, Lumpectomy, Quadrantectomy, or Segmental Mastectomy, while a Lumpectomy is specifically a wide excision of a tumor with a small amount of healthy breast tissue taken. Code 22 is used when a patient has a Lumpectomy and an additional margin excision during the same procedure. Breast Conserving surgery removes the tumor and some surrounding tissue, while a Total Mastectomy removes the entire breast. Code 30 is used for a Skin Sparing and Nipple Sparing Mastectomy. It is essentially a Skin-Sparing Mastectomy with breast reconstruction. Autologous tissue reconstructs the breast using a woman’s own tissue, while tissue expanders are used after breast removal to stretch the breast’s skin in preparation for reconstruction.
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Also, be sure to join us next month for another LIVE CTR Coding Break, keep an eye out for this on our Events page.