CPT 15200: Full-Thickness Skin Graft of Trunk, ≤20 cm² - OpenPayer

Summary & Overview

CPT 15200: Full-Thickness Skin Graft of Trunk, ≤20 cm²

CPT code 15200 represents a free full–thickness skin graft of the trunk covering 20 cm² or less, including direct closure of the donor site. This surgical grafting code is used in repair of small to moderate full-thickness skin defects on the trunk and is relevant for surgeons, dermatologists, and facility billing. Nationally, accurate coding of full‑thickness grafts affects surgical case mix classification, facility billing, and downstream payment determinations for reconstructive wound care.

Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. The summary addresses payer coverage considerations and common clinical settings where the code is applied.

Readers will learn the clinical intent of the code, typical sites of service, commonly associated clinical diagnoses, and adjacent procedure codes used for additional graft area or different anatomical sites. The publication also summarizes common modifiers and related CPT graft codes for appropriate coding adjacency. This information supports coding accuracy, billing consistency across payers, and operational understanding of where CPT code 15200 fits within reconstructive and wound‑care service lines.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare15200CPTfull-thickness graftskin graftreconstructive surgerydermatologic surgeryoperative codingwound care

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 15200 describes a free full–thickness skin graft of the trunk covering an area of 20 cm² or less. The code specifies that the procedure includes direct closure of the donor site.

Service type: Full-thickness skin graft (autograft), trunk

Typical site of service: Operating room or procedure suite where surgical grafting and primary donor-site closure are performed.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 68-year-old patient with diabetes and peripheral vascular disease presents with a non-healing chronic ulcer of the lower leg (diagnosis L97.909) that has failed conservative wound care. The wound is debrided in the operating room and the surgical team determines that a full‑thickness skin graft from the trunk will best provide durable coverage. The provider performs a free full‑thickness skin graft of the trunk covering an area of 20 cm2 or less (15200), harvests the donor graft, and performs direct closure of the donor site. The workflow includes preoperative evaluation and consent, operative debridement and preparation of the recipient bed, graft harvesting from the trunk, inset and fixation of the graft, dressing application, and postoperative monitoring with routine wound checks. Expected sites of service include the outpatient ambulatory surgery center or hospital operating room; perioperative anesthesia and potential postoperative inpatient observation depend on comorbidities and complexity. Typical documentation items include operative note with graft size and site, donor site closure, indication (non‑healing ulcer, pressure ulcer, traumatic open wound or postoperative wound disruption), and any applicable modifiers documenting bilateral, reduced services, or assistant surgeon involvement.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`

CPT 19324: Mammaplasty, Augmentation Without Prosthetic Implant

15202

CPT 15202: Application of Skin Substitute Graft to Trunk/Extremities

12005

CPT 12005: Simple Repair of Superficial Wounds, 12.6–20.0 cm

12001

CPT 12001: Simple Repair of Superficial Wounds, ≤2.5 cm

cpt-12001-simple-superficial-wound-repair-25cm-or-less

CPT 12001: Simple Repair of Superficial Wound, ≤2.5 cm

cpt-19302-breast-conserving-surgery-with-axillary-node-removal

CPT 19302: Breast-Conserving Surgery with Axillary Lymph Node Removal

19302

CPT 19302: Partial Mastectomy with Axillary Lymphadenectomy

19324

CPT 19324: Mammaplasty Augmentation Without Prosthetic Implant

11750

CPT 11750: Excision of Nail and Nail Matrix, Partial or Complete

cpt-11601-excision-malignant-lesion-trunk-arms-legs-0-6-1-0-cm

CPT 11601: Excision of Malignant Skin Lesion, Trunk/Arms/Legs (0.6–1.0 cm)

Showing 1–10 of 69

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`207N00000X`	Dermatology Physician	Dermatologists perform skin grafting for complex cutaneous defects and chronic ulcers.
`208600000X`	Surgery Physician	General and plastic surgeons commonly perform full‑thickness graft harvest and inset.
`207P00000X`	Emergency Medicine Physician	Emergency physicians may provide initial wound stabilization and refer for definitive grafting.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`L97.909`	Non-pressure chronic ulcer of unspecified part of unspecified lower leg	Chronic lower‑leg ulcer that may require full‑thickness graft coverage when conservative care fails.
`T81.31XA`	Disruption of external operation (surgical) wound, not elsewhere classified, initial encounter	Surgical wound disruption that can create a defect requiring grafting for closure.
`S81.801A`	Unspecified open wound, right lower leg, initial encounter	Traumatic open wound of the lower leg that may be reconstructed with a skin graft.
`L89.309`	Pressure ulcer of unspecified hip, stage 3	Stage 3 pressure ulcer with full‑thickness tissue loss potentially managed with grafting after debridement and optimization.
`L89.899`	Pressure ulcer of other site, stage 1	Superficial pressure injury; usually not an indication for grafting but included for coding context when multiple pressure ulcers are assessed.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`15201`	Free full‑thickness skin graft of the trunk; each additional 20 cm^2 (or part thereof).	Billed in addition to `15200` when graft area exceeds the initial 20 cm^2.
`15100`	Split‑thickness graft, trunk, arms, and legs.	Alternative graft technique; used when a split‑thickness graft is more appropriate than a full‑thickness graft.
`15120`	Split‑thickness graft, face, scalp, eyelids, mouth, neck, ears, orbits, genitalia, hands, feet and/or multiple digits.	Related graft technique for specialized anatomic sites when split‑thickness is indicated.
`15220`	Full‑thickness graft, scalp, arms and legs.	Related code for full‑thickness grafts at other anatomic sites (extremities) instead of trunk.
`15240`	Full‑thickness graft, forehead, cheeks, chin, mouth, neck, axillae, genitalia, hands and feet.	Related code for full‑thickness grafts on head, neck, and other specialized sites.
`15260`	Full‑thickness graft, nose, ears, eyelids and lips.	Related code for small, cosmetically sensitive facial sites where full‑thickness grafting is performed.

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