Summary & Overview

CPT 10012: MR-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration, Additional Lesion

CPT code 10012 represents a fine needle aspiration (FNA) performed to obtain diagnostic specimens from an additional lesion under magnetic resonance (MR) imaging guidance. This add-on code is used alongside the primary MR-guided aspiration code 10011 to document and bill for each extra lesion sampled during the same imaging session. Nationally, accurate use of add-on procedural codes like 10012 matters for clinical documentation, care coordination, and appropriate claims adjudication for image-guided interventional procedures.

Key payers considered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for MR-guided FNA, typical sites of service, and the role of add-on coding in multisite biopsies. The publication summarizes available payer coverage patterns, common billing modifiers observed in practice, and benchmark considerations for utilization of additional-lesion aspirates.

This report also outlines implications for coding workflows and claims documentation, and highlights areas where policy clarifications or documentation improvements can affect reimbursement consistency. Data not available in the input are noted where specific payer policies, associated taxonomies, ICD-10 pairings, and related codes would normally be detailed.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicareCPT 10012fine needle aspirationMR-guided biopsyimage-guided proceduresinterventional radiologyadd-on codediagnostic aspirationoutpatient imagingbiopsy coding

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 10012 describes a fine needle aspiration (FNA) performed to obtain a diagnostic specimen from tissue, a cyst, or a mass. This code is reported for each additional lesion biopsied under magnetic resonance (MR) imaging guidance in addition to the primary code 10011.

Service type: Image-guided percutaneous diagnostic aspiration

Typical site of service: Outpatient radiology or interventional suite within a hospital or freestanding imaging center, where MR imaging guidance is available.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 58-year-old woman with a history of breast lumps presents after mammography and ultrasound identify multiple suspicious nodules in the right breast. The interventional radiologist schedules MRI-guided sampling of the most suspicious lesion using code 10011 and performs additional fine-needle aspiration(s) of one or more separate lesions during the same session. Under conscious sedation in the outpatient radiology suite, the provider uses a fine needle and syringe to obtain cytologic specimens from each additional lesion under MRI guidance. Specimens are handled for on-site adequacy and then sent to cytology. The workflow includes pre-procedure consent and imaging review, sterile preparation and localization under MRI, aspiration of each targeted lesion with immediate specimen labeling, post-procedure monitoring for hemostasis and complications, and documentation of each lesion sampled. Billing reports 10011 for the primary MRI-guided FNA and 10012 for each additional lesion sampled during the same session. Typical site of service is an outpatient radiology or ambulatory surgical center; service type is image-guided diagnostic fine needle aspiration.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`00`	Default/untagged — standard reporting

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207P00000X	Diagnostic Radiology	Interventional radiologists commonly perform image-guided FNA procedures
208000000X	General Surgery	Surgeons may perform ultrasound- or image-guided FNAs in clinic or OR
207L00000X	Interventional Radiology	Providers specializing in image-guided minimally invasive procedures
363LP0800X	Pathology	Pathologists or cytopathologists perform or evaluate cytology specimens and on-site adequacy assessments
208D00000X	Otolaryngology (ENT)	ENT surgeons may perform FNAs for head and neck masses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`C50.912`	Malignant neoplasm of unspecified site of right female breast	Suspicious breast mass requiring tissue diagnosis by FNA
`C50.911`	Malignant neoplasm of unspecified site of left female breast	Contralateral or additional breast lesions sampled with FNA
`N60.11`	Solitary cystic mastopathy of right breast	Benign-appearing cystic lesion that may be aspirated for diagnosis and symptom relief
`N63`	Unspecified lump in breast	Common clinical indication for targeted FNA to obtain cytology
`R22.39`	Localized swelling, mass and lump, other parts of breast	Non-specific mass warranting image-guided aspiration for diagnosis

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`10011`	Fine needle aspiration; with imaging guidance (eg, CT, ultrasound, or MRI), including guidance for needle placement, when performed — primary lesion	Primary code for the first MRI-guided FNA in a session; `10012` is appended for each additional lesion sampled under the same guidance
`10013`	Fine needle aspiration; without imaging guidance — non-image-guided aspiration	Alternate code when FNA is performed without imaging guidance (clinic or palpation-guided) instead of MRI guidance
`76942`	Ultrasonic guidance for needle localization — imaging guidance when ultrasound is used	Used when ultrasound, rather than MRI, is the image guidance modality for needle placement during aspiration
`77021`	Magnetic resonance guidance for needle placement, imaging supervision and interpretation	May describe MRI guidance services associated with needle placement when separately reportable; correlation with FNA codes depends on payer rules
`88172`	Cytopathology, immediate cytohistologic evaluation (eg, rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE))	Often performed during FNA procedures to assess specimen adequacy and may be billed by the pathology provider when performed

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