A patient presents with multiple skin lacerations on the lower arm. The physician performs simple repair of a 2.3 cm wound, closes a single layer of skin over a 5.2 cm wound, and closes a 1.2 cm wound with sterile adhesive strips. Using the CPT codes provided below, select the appropriate code(s) for these procedures:
12001 Simple repair of superficial wounds of scalp, neck, axillae, external genitalia, trunk and/or extremities; 2.5 cm or less
12002 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm
12004 7.6 cm to 12.5 cm
12005 12.6 cm to 20.0 cm
12006 20.1 cm to 30.0 cm
12007 over 30.0 cm

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct code is 12002, as it covers simple repair of superficial wounds of 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm. The total length of the wounds (2.3 cm + 5.2 cm + 1.2 cm = 8.7 cm) is not relevant because the code selection is based on the length of each individual wound, not the cumulative length. The use of sterile adhesive strips does not count towards the length measured for simple repair coding.

A Patient Presents with Multiple Skin Lacerations on the Lower