Skin Lesion Excision – Wait for Pathology?

Question:

I’ve heard you say to wait for the pathology report in order to bill for the skin lesion excision codes 114xx (benign) and 116xx (malignant)? What if I have a biopsy report – do I still need to wait?

Answer:

Good question – no you do not need to wait if you have a biopsy pathology report showing a malignancy for that lesion. You can go ahead and use the malignant diagnosis and CPT codes for the excision.