Rid your Ovarian Cyst CPT Confusion

Coding for the removal/excision, aspiration or drainage of an ovarian cyst does not have to be that difficult. We have broken down each approach to provide you all the tools you need to get your claim right every time.



Vital concept: When you are gearing up to code for ovarian cyst removal, you should pay attention to the approach; whether it's vaginal abdominal (open) or laparoscopic. Cut into these ovarian cyst codes to excise an ovarian cyst means that the ob-gyn removes the cyst by cutting. If this is the case, you should report 58925.



Cyst aspiration may also include US guidance



To 'aspirate' an ovarian cyst means that the ob-gyn removes fluids by means of a suction device; however the terms 'aspirations' and 'drainage' are synonymous in this case. According to a key concept, the code you select will depend on the method the doctor uses to carry out the aspiration.



In other words, if the ob-gyn aspirates ovarian cysts through an incision in the vaginal canal, you should use 58800. But again if the ob-gyn aspirates through an abdominal incision, report 58805. On the contrary, if he carries out laparoscopic aspiration, use 49322.



Guidance for ultrasounds: Your ob-gyn may require using guidance when he must aspirate the cyst blindly through the vaginal incision. This means if the ob-gyn uses ultrasound guidance to place the needle that he uses to aspirate the cyst through the vaginal approach, you will also likely get to report 76942.



On the other hand, you could bill 76998 in place of 76942 if the doctor carries out the actual aspiration under ultrasound guidance. As either ultrasound procedure could represent accurate coding in this situation, you should note that 76998 have a higher relative value than 76942.



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