Split Thickness Skin Graft

Question:

The doctor did a split-thickness autograft of the leg. I can’t find the CPT code for this procedure for an adult. I see only CPT codes for infants and children. Can you tell me where the codes for adults are?

Answer:

There are two stand-alone codes for split thickness skin grafts:

CPT Code	Descriptor
15100	Split-thickness autograft, trunk, arms, legs; first 100 sq cm or less, or 1% of body area of infants and children
15120	Split-thickness autograft, face, scalp, eyelids, mouth, neck, ears, orbits, genitalia, hands, feet, and/or multiple digits; first 100 sq cm or less, or 1% of body area of infants and children

Note that the code descriptors say, “first 100 sq cm or less, or 1% of body area of infants and children.” That means the code applies to both adults and children. If an adult, you’ll use the area in square centimeters documented in the note. If an infant or child, you’ll use 1% of the body area as your guide for coding the area grafted.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 12/17/15.