Dear Friends,
I had comeacross Some difficulty in Coding thyroid biopsy. Pls help me in getting the Solutions.
1. For Bilateral thyroid Biopsy What could be the Modifier Used .Can we use 60100 -50 (OR)60100 -LT ,60100 -RT ?
2. What Could be basic Difference between Fine needle Aspiration of the Thyroid and & Core biopsy of the Thyroid Gland?
3. If three passes made in the Right side of the Thyroid gland. Can we code it as 10022 *3
Regards,
Titus sam.
60100 is not a bilateral code so application of the 50 modifier is inappropriate.
There are the fine needle aspirations codes, 10021, 10022 Then under these codes it states: "Official Notes: For percutaneous needle biopsy other than fine needle aspiration, see 20206 for muscle, 32400 for pleura, 32405 for lung or mediastinum, 42400 for salivary gland, 47000, 47001 for liver, 48102 for pancreas, 49180 for abdominal or retroperitoneal mass, 60100 for thyroid, 62269 for spinal cord. " So the coding will depend on what exactly the operative note states.
Core needle Biopsy describes a percutaneous needle biopsy, in which a small piece of tissue is taken through the needle and examined for histologic architecture.
A fine needle aspiration, describes a procedure in which fluid or tissue is aspirated with a long, slender needle and the cells are examined cytologically.