Ask Dr. Z

Ask Dr. Z Knowledge Base houses over 7,500 coding questions and answers dating back to 2013.

Ask Dr. Z Disclaimer

Please note this question was answered in 2018. The coding advice may or may not be outdated.

Fat Pad Biopsy

Date: Apr 4, 2018

Question:

US-guided biopsy of anterior abdominal wall, superficial fat biopsy. I reported codes 76942 and 20206; however, it has been kicked back multiple times (even after I forwarded three examples from you), and now coding management has sent this: "The code descriptor of 20206 specifies muscle biopsy. The tissue biopsied in this case was superficial fat of the abdominal wall. There is no specific CPT code for this procedure, therefore code 22999 (unlisted procedure, abdominal musculoskeletal system) is the correct code." Am I off base here? I have been using 20206 for these for a long time. Is there anything else I might offer them as explanation? 

Question ID : 10485
Sign up for a membership to view the answer to this question.

Need to ask Dr.Z?

Don't see the answer you're looking for in the knowledge base? No problem. You can ask Dr. Z directly!
Ask Dr. Z a question now!