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

For coding purposes, when multiple wounds are repaired, the lengths of those that are repaired in the same classification (simple, intermediate, complex) and in the same anatomical group (in this case, extremities) are added together. The 2.3 cm and 5.2 cm wounds, both closed by simple repair, total 7.5 cm, which falls within the range of code 12002. The 1.2 cm wound closed with adhesive strips is not included in this calculation as it does not require suture repair and thus does not fall under the same coding classification.

A Patient Presents with Multiple Skin Lacerations on the Lower