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A 5-year-old is brought to the QuickCare in the ED to repair two lacerations: a 3 cm laceration on her right arm and 2 cm laceration on her nose. Her arm is repaired with a simple one-layer closure with sutures. Her nose is repaired with a simple repair using tissue adhesive, 2-cyanoacrylate.
How are the repairs reported?
Suggested Answer: C
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The CPT code 12002 is used for simple repair of superficial wounds of 2.5 cm or less. This code includes the repair of both the 3 cm laceration on the right arm and the 2 cm laceration on the nose as both are simple repairs. The other options suggest more complex repairs or multiple separate procedures, which are not necessary in this scenario. Reference: AMA's CPT Professional Edition (current year)
30 comments · newest first
DI
Diego
6 months ago
I agree with B. It covers both repairs accurately.
BR
Brittni
6 months ago
B makes sense. Different methods for each laceration.
AL
Almeta
6 months ago
D includes both, but I’m unsure about the modifiers.
CH
Christiane
7 months ago
A seems off. Only one repair with sutures.
AD
Adelle
7 months ago
I feel like C is too simple for both lacerations.
RA
Raymon
7 months ago
I think it's B. Two different repairs.
ME
Mel
8 months ago
Nope, it’s definitely C for the arm and D for the nose!
LA
Lajuana
8 months ago
Wait, I thought tissue adhesive was coded differently?
FE
Felix
8 months ago
Totally agree, but the nose repair with adhesive is tricky!
HA
Hana
8 months ago
I'm leaning towards B as well. Gotta love those tissue adhesives - quick, easy, and no needles! Although I'm sure the kid would have preferred some stickers over the sutures.
FE
Felicia
8 months ago
Haha, I bet the kid was like "Ouch, my nose and arm! Guess I'll be getting some cool scars out of this." Anyway, I think the answer is B.
TA
Tamra
8 months ago
I'm pretty sure the answer is D. The 12002 code covers the simple repair of both lacerations, and the 12011-59 modifier is needed to indicate the separate procedures on the arm and nose.
PH
Phung
9 months ago
Hmm, I think the correct answer is B. The arm laceration is repaired with sutures, so 12032 is the right code. And the nose laceration is repaired with tissue adhesive, so 12041-59 is the appropriate modifier.
NA
Na
9 months ago
I believe the 12002 code is for the arm, but I'm confused about how to report the nose repair with the adhesive.
EL
Elmer
9 months ago
I practiced a similar question where we had to differentiate between the types of closures. I feel like the nose repair might have a different code.
BI
Billi
9 months ago
I think the simple repair codes are what we need here, but I can't recall if we report them separately or bundled.
CA
Carla
9 months ago
I'm a bit unsure about this one. I was considering option C, 12002, since that's for a simple repair. But the question mentions the tissue adhesive, so maybe option D is the way to go.
AR
Arlene
9 months ago
I'm pretty confident that option B is the right answer here. The arm gets 12032 and the nose gets 12041-59 for the tissue adhesive repair.
NO
Noel
10 months ago
The arm laceration is a simple closure, so 12002 fits.
KA
Karima
10 months ago
I remember something about coding for lacerations, but I'm not sure if the tissue adhesive counts differently.
AL
Aleta
10 months ago
Okay, let me think this through. The arm is a simple one-layer closure, so that's 12032. And the nose is a simple repair with tissue adhesive, which I believe is 12002. So I'd go with option D.
CR
Craig
10 months ago
B seems like the right choice here. The arm and nose repairs are reported separately, and the 59 modifier is used to indicate the distinct procedures.
JE
Jerry
10 months ago
I think it’s B, but I’m not sure about the modifiers.
VA
Vanda
11 months ago
Hmm, I'm a little confused. I was thinking the nose repair might be 12002 since it's a simple repair with tissue adhesive. But I'm not sure if that would be the right code to use.
WI
Willow
11 months ago
I'm pretty sure this is a simple laceration repair, so I'd go with option B. The arm gets 12032 and the nose gets 12041-59 for the tissue adhesive.
LO
Loren
5 months ago
Good catch on the codes! B is the best choice here.
HU
Hubert
5 months ago
Agreed! The lacerations are simple, so B is the way to go.
HE
Herminia
6 months ago
I was leaning towards option A, but B makes more sense.
WI
William
6 months ago
Yeah, the tissue adhesive definitely makes it 12041-59.
LA
Latrice
6 months ago
I think option B is correct too. The arm and nose repairs fit those codes.