Question:
Can microdissection be separately reported with PLA codes?
Answer:
Additional procedures performed before cell lysis, such as microdissection, may be separately reported when performed and appropriately documented. However, scraping tumor from an unstained slide is considered included in the payment for the molecular pathology procedure, and codes 88380 or 88381 should not be reported for this process, per the 2026 NCCI Policy Manual.