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Mediastinal Node Biopsy

Date: Jul 29, 2014

Question:

How would you code for a core needle biopsy of a mediastinal lymph node? The report stated the biopsy was challenging because the lymph node was close to the heart and pulmonary artery, so it definitely was not superficial. We didn't think code 38505 really applied here, but it is not abdominal or retroperitoneal, so we didn't know if we could use code 49180 here. Would it be appropriate to report code 32405 for a mediastinal lymph node or not?

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