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| Report | Question ID | Question (Ascending) | Discussion | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20051062 | Surgery of Primary Site--Prostate: How is the use of a Laserscope Niagara laser (modulated KTP-YAG laser beam (Niagara 122 prostate vaporization)) coded for prostate primaries? See Discussion. | The Laserscope Niagara laser performs an operation similar to the TURP, but there is virtually no bleeding and patients can sometimes go home the same day, most without a catheter. The laser is delivered through a fiber (the thickness of hair) into the cavity via an endoscope inserted through the urethra. | When performed as part of the first course of therapy, assign surgery code 15 [Laser ablation] to Niagara laser photovaporization of the prostate. | |
| 20081014 | Surgery of Primary Site--Prostate: How is transurethral microwave treatment coded for prostate primaries? | Assign code 16 [Hyperthermia]. See the SEER Note on page C-747 of the 2007 SEER Manual: Code Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT) as 16. |
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| 20100038 | Surgery of Primary Site--Prostate: Is a prostate saturation biopsy coded under diagnostic biopsy or surgery? | A prostate saturation biopsy is a transperineal template-guided stereotactic saturation prostate biopsy that typically produces 30 to 80 core biopsies. This is an alternative biopsy technique used for some high-risk patients including men with persistently elevated PSA, those who have atypia on prior prostate biopsies, or men with biopsies showing high-grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). Although this is a different procedure, it is still a diagnostic biopsy. Do not code prostate saturation biopsy under Surgery of Primary Site. | ||
| 20010025 | Surgery of Primary Site--Prostate: What treatment code is used to represent prostate carcinoma treated with "high intensity focused ultrasound" (HIFU)? | For cases diagnosed 1998 and later:
Code the Surgery of Primary Site field to 17 [Other method of local tumor destruction]. HIFU uses focused energy to destroy tissue. It is classified as a surgical procedure. |
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| 20041050 | Surgery of Primary Site--Rectum: How do you code a procedure described as a "transanal resection, debulking of a large rectal mass"? See Discussion. | Patient is not a surgical candidate due to "other medical conditions". Colonoscopy done for anemia and rectal bleeding. At the colonoscopy a "Transanal Resection Debulking of large rectal mass" is performed. Two specimens are sent to the lab. The first is labeled "rectal mass" and is a 2.0 cm diameter spherical fragment of tissue. The second is labeled "transanal debulking rectal mass" and is described as multiple, irregular shaped fragments of tan, rubbery tissue measuring 5.0 x 5.0 x 3.0 cm. Final path diagnosis: Debulking of rectal mass: Adenocarcinoma greater than 2 cm in size, resection margins positive for tumor. | For cases diagnosed 1998-2002, code Surgery of Primary Site to 20 [Local tumor excision, NOS]. Because the procedure was performed via colonoscopy and apparently did not involve proctectomy, the best choice is a local excision. | |
| 20010007 | Surgery of Primary Site--Skin: For skin primaries diagnosed 1998-2002, what is the difference between code 40 [Wide excision or re-excision of lesion or minor (local) amputation, NOS] and 50 [Radical excision of a lesion, NOS]? | Codes 40 and 50 are not in the scheme for 2003 forward. See history for coding cases diagnosed 1998-2002. | ||
| 20031105 | Surgery of Primary Site--Skin: How should this field be coded for a re-excision or wide excision of a skin primary when the margins are NOS? | For cases diagnosed 2003 and later:
Assign surgery codes 45, 46 and 47 only when the margins are documented to be more than 1cm. Use the most appropriate code from 30-36 if re-excision or wide excision followed a biopsy. Use a code from the 20's series if the procedure is called a "biopsy." |
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| 20021026 | Surgery of Primary Site--Skin: Should Mohs surgery be code to 27 [Excisional biopsy] or 31 [Shave biopsy followed by a gross excision of the lesion]? See discussion. | Under surgery coding in the 5/22/01 SEER Abstractor/Coder Workshop book, page 20, it states that Mohs surgery should be coded as an excisional biopsy. The ACoS I&R dated 6/6/2001 states that it should be coded to 31. | For cases diagnosed 1/1/2003 and after: Code the Surgery of Primary Site field to 34 [Mohs surgery, NOS], 35 [Mohs with 1-cm margin or less] or 36 [Mohs with more than 1-cm margin]. | |
| 20031203 | Surgery of Primary Site--Skin: Should this field be coded to 45 [wide excision or reexcision of lesion or minor (local) amputation with margins more than 1 cm, NOS], 46 [with margins between 1 and 2 cm], or 47 [with margins greater than 2 cm] for a skin primary diagnosed in 2003 when margins are stated exactly as 2 cm? | Use code 46 [Wide excision...with margins more than 1 cm and less than 2 cm] when margins are exactly 2 cm. | ||
| 20051026 | Surgery of Primary Site--Skin: What surgery code is used to reflect the amputation of a finger for subungual melanoma? | 47 [Wide excision or reexcision of lesion or minor (local) amputation with margins greater than 2cm] is the correct surgery code for amputation of a finger for melanoma. |
