Soft Tissue Tumor Removal

Question:

My physician removed a soft tissue tumor on the patient’s foot measuring 1.2 cm. Documentation indicates subcutaneous. He is coding this as a benign excision and wants to report CPT code 11422. Can you tell me if this is correct?

Answer:

The correct CPT code to report is CPT code 28043 (Excision, tumor, soft tissue of foot or toe, subcutaneous; less than 1.5 cm). You would not report a soft tissue tumor excision with the benign skin lesion excision codes.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 7/9/20.