CPT code 20970: Free osteocutaneous flap, iliac crest
CPT code 20970 reports one procedure from one donor site. It covers a free osteocutaneous flap with microvascular anastomosis harvested from the iliac crest, and nothing else. Coders who treat the donor sites named across 20969 to 20973 as interchangeable examples pick the wrong code, and the claim comes back. That single distinction drives most […]
CPT code 01420: Anesthesia for knee cast procedures
CPT code 01420 covers anesthesia for cast work on the knee, not knee surgery. The official descriptor is Anesthesia for all cast applications, removal, or repair involving knee joint. The procedure being anesthetized is the cast. That’s easy to miss, because the code sits in the middle of the knee surgery series and reads like […]
CPT code 11950: Subcutaneous injection of filling material
CPT code 11950 covers filler injections of 1 cc or less. See 2026 rates, modifiers, ICD-10 pairings, and denial fixes. Read more.
CPT code 20697: Strut exchange billing guide
CPT code 20697 covers the exchange of a strut, meaning its removal and replacement. The descriptor in the American Medical Association’s CPT code set ends with the word “each,” so one strut is the unit of service. The code sits in the external fixation range of the Musculoskeletal System section, next to CPT 20696. That […]
CPT code 20703: Intramedullary drug-delivery device removal
CPT code 20703 is a Category I add-on code for removal of an intramedullary drug-delivery device. The official American Medical Association (AMA) descriptor reads “Removal of drug-delivery device(s), intramedullary (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)”. That parenthetical carries the billing rule. The code exists only as a companion to another procedure, so […]
CPT code 20527: Enzyme injection for Dupuytren’s contracture
CPT code 20527 covers collagenase injection for Dupuytren’s. It pays about $94 in 2026, with J0775 billed at 58 units.
CPT code 20604: Ultrasound-guided small joint injection billing
CPT code 20604 reports aspiration and/or injection of a small joint or bursa when ultrasound guides the needle. The full descriptor adds a second condition that is easy to miss: permanent recording and reporting. The AMA added the code in 2015, alongside 20606 and 20611, so every joint-size tier gained a guided option. Its non-guided […]
CPT code 20816: Replantation of digit, excluding thumb (MCP joint to sublimis insertion)
CPT code 20816 covers digit replantation from the MCP joint to the sublimis insertion, at 31.15 work RVUs. Distal to it, bill 20822.
CPT Code 17313: Mohs surgery billing guide for trunk, arms, and legs
CPT Code 17313 reports the first stage of Mohs micrographic surgery on the trunk, arms, or legs, covering up to 5 tissue blocks. Body site decides which code applies, and lesion complexity does not enter into it. Mohs on the arm is 17313. The same procedure on the ear is 17311. Routing is only half […]
CPT code 19105: Cryosurgical ablation of fibroadenoma
CPT 19105 covers cryoablation of a fibroadenoma, each lesion. Medicare pays ~$194 in a facility, ~$2,536 in an office.