Attempted Foreign Body

Question:

When billing a foreign body removal code of 10120, the surgeon incises the finger and looks around for 25 mins and no foreign body is found, do we bill a 52 since no FB was found or do we bill the 10120 without the modifier since the provider did perform the procedure? I can’t seem to find any guidance on this. Can you help?

Answer:

Make sure that the physician documented that the incision was within thesubcutaneous tissue (required for CPT 10120).  When a procedure is considered to have ‘failed,’ specifically the expected result of the procedure is not achieved, the procedure is coded as performed.  You should report the procedure with Modifier 52 anddue to the fact that there was no foreign body discovered, the service was reduced. Using modifier 52 provides a means of reporting reduced services without disturbing the identification of the basic service.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 08/25/22.