2025 CPT code 11606
(Active) Effective Date: N/A Surgery - Surgical Procedures on the Integumentary System Feed
Excision of a malignant lesion including margins from the trunk, arms, or legs, with an excised diameter over 4.0 cm.
Modifiers may be applicable, such as modifier 58 for staged procedures and modifier 59 for distinct procedural services.
Medical necessity for this procedure is established by a confirmed diagnosis of a malignant skin lesion requiring surgical excision.
The physician's responsibility includes determining the appropriate margins for excision based on the lesion's characteristics, performing the excision with local anesthesia, ensuring complete removal of the malignant tissue, controlling bleeding, closing the wound (simple closure), and sending the specimen for pathological analysis. The physician may also need to perform additional excisions based on frozen section results.
In simple words: Removal of skin cancer, larger than 4 cm, from your torso, arms, or legs. The procedure involves cutting out the cancerous spot and some surrounding healthy skin to make sure all the cancer is gone.The skin is then stitched back together. If a skin graft or more complex repair is needed, that's billed separately.
Excision of a malignant skin lesion, including margins, on the trunk, arms, or legs, where the excised diameter is greater than 4.0 cm. This includes simple closure. The excised diameter is the lesion's greatest clinical diameter plus the narrowest margin needed for complete excision, measured before the procedure.The same code applies even if the surgical defect is repaired linearly or reconstructed (e.g., with a skin graft). If more complex closure is required (intermediate or complex), those should be reported separately.If performed with adjacent tissue transfer, report only the adjacent tissue transfer code. Re-excision(s) at the same session are reported with a single code based on the final excised diameter. Re-excision at a later session uses the appropriate 11600-11646 code, possibly with modifier 58.
Example 1: A patient presents with a 5 cm squamous cell carcinoma on the right arm. The physician excises the lesion with appropriate margins, resulting in a 6 cm excised diameter. The wound is closed with a simple suture closure. Code 11606 is reported., A patient has a 4.5 cm melanoma on the back.The physician excises the lesion. The pathology report from the frozen section indicates positive margins. The physician performs an additional excision to widen the margins, achieving a final excised diameter of 7 cm.Code 11606 is reported for the entire procedure., A patient has a 4.2 cm basal cell carcinoma on the leg. The physician excises the lesion and performs a complex closure due to the size and location of the wound.Code 11606 is reported for the excision, along with the appropriate complex repair code.
Documentation should include lesion size and location, margins taken, method of closure, pathology report confirming malignancy, and any intraoperative findings (e.g. frozen section results).
- Global Days: The global period for this code will depend on the payer policies and guidelines.
- Payment Status: Active
- Specialties:Dermatology, Surgical Oncology, Plastic Surgery
- Place of Service:Office, Outpatient Hospital, Ambulatory Surgical Center