A 31-year-old male arrives at general surgery for a pilonidal cyst that has been unresponsive to antibiotic therapy at his primary care physician's (PCP) office. There is a large amount of tenderness and edema at the site and the area is erythematic and warm to the touch. The patient's pain has been increasing and, on palpation, the surgeon notes that the cyst is larger than six cm in diameter and appears to be deep. After discussion with the patient, it is decided to perform an incision and drainage (I&D) at the surgeon's office, with \ no sedation other than local use of Lidocaine. The area was prepped and numbed with Lidocaine and an incision was made, allowing a large amount of purulent drainage to be expressed. The area was packed with gauze and the procedure was completed without any complications. The patient will follow up in the office in one week for recheck and is to continue on the antibiotic prescribed by his PCP. Which of the following codes should you use?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

10080 is correct because this was a straightforward I&D of a pilonidal cyst. There were no complications mentioned during the procedure.
Code s10060 and 10061 are incorrect because they are used for I&Ds of abscesses, but are not specific to pilonidal cysts. Code 10081 is incorrect because it is for a complicated I&D of a pilonidal cyst and the scenario specified that this was an uncomplicated procedure.

A 31-Year-Old Male Arrives at General Surgery for a Pilonidal