Knowledge Base Article

Q:

How should laceration repairs by steri-strips or dermabond be coded?

A:

According to the CPT manual a wound closure/repair with adhesive strips as the sole repair material are not reported with a separate CPT code but as part of the evaluation and management (E/M service). This means that laceration repairs performed in the Emergency Department using only steri-strips would be included as part of the determination of the ED visit level.

For tissue adhesives, which would include dermabond, you can report a CPT code from the repair section.

This guidance is in the first paragraph under the ‘Repair (Closure)’ section in the CPT book. The complete paragraph reads:

“Use the codes in this section [CPT codes 12001-13160] to designate wound closure utilizing sutures, staples, or tissue adhesives (eg, 2-cyanoacrylate), either singly or in combination with each other, or in combination with adhesive strips. Wound closure utilizing adhesive strips as the sole repair material should be coded using the appropriate E/M code.”