From the Research
For cryotherapy on 6 moles, you should use CPT code 17110 for "Destruction (e.g., laser surgery, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, chemosurgery, surgical curettement), of benign lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions; up to 14 lesions." This code covers the destruction of multiple benign lesions in a single session, which applies to your treatment of 6 moles, as supported by the study on Cutaneous Cryosurgery for Common Skin Conditions 1. You would also need to document an appropriate E/M (Evaluation and Management) code for the skin assessment visit, such as 99202-99205 for new patients or 99212-99215 for established patients, depending on the complexity of the visit and decision-making involved. Some key points to document include:
- Location, size, and appearance of each mole treated
- Method of cryotherapy used
- Patient's tolerance of the procedure
- Post-procedure instructions given to the patient regarding wound care and potential side effects This documentation is essential for proper reimbursement and to establish medical necessity for the procedure, as insurance carriers may require evidence that the lesions were causing symptoms or had concerning features warranting removal, as noted in the review of noninvasive techniques for skin cancer detection in dermatology 2. It's also important to consider the potential adverse effects of cryosurgery, such as bleeding, blistering, edema, paresthesia, and pain, as well as less common effects like tendon rupture, scarring, alopecia, atrophy, and hypopigmentation, as discussed in the study on Cutaneous Cryosurgery for Common Skin Conditions 1. However, the provided evidence on skin cancer detection technology 3, biopsy techniques for skin disease and skin cancer 4, and histopathological analysis of the therapeutic response to cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen 5 does not directly impact the coding for cryotherapy on 6 moles. Therefore, the focus should be on using the correct CPT code and documenting the necessary information for proper reimbursement and medical necessity.