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CPT 44111: Excision of Intestinal Lesions, Multiple Incisions

CPT code 44111 represents excision of one or more lesions from the small or large intestine using multiple incisions without creation of an anastomosis, fistula, or exteriorization of the bowel. This surgical code is important nationally because it captures a discrete operative intervention for focal intestinal pathology — such as isolated tumors, polyps not amenable to endoscopic removal, or localized benign lesions — and supports appropriate tracking of surgical utilization and reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient surgical settings. Key payers referenced in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context for use of 44111, national benchmarking and utilization considerations where available, common administrative and coding implications, and a summary of how this code fits within broader surgical service lines. The content clarifies the procedure scope, typical sites of service, and what to expect in billing workflows. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.

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Billing Code Overview

CPT code 44111 describes a surgical procedure in which the provider excises one or more lesions from the affected portion of the small or large intestine using multiple incisions. The operation is limited to lesion excision and does not include creation of an anastomosis, formation of a fistula, or exteriorization of the intestine through the skin.

Service type: Surgical excision of intestinal lesions (open or limited incision technique)

Typical site of service: Hospital operating room or ambulatory surgical center, depending on clinical complexity and patient factors. Data not available in the input.

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CPT 44111: Excision of Intestinal Lesions, Multiple Incisions

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Get alerted when payer policies referencing 44111 are released or updated.

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Billing Code Overview

Service type: Surgical excision of intestinal lesions (open or limited incision technique)

Typical site of service: Hospital operating room or ambulatory surgical center, depending on clinical complexity and patient factors. Data not available in the input.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A typical patient is a 58-year-old presenting with intermittent abdominal pain, occult GI bleeding, or anemia and imaging or endoscopy identifies one or more discrete benign-appearing or suspicious lesions localized to the small or large intestine. After preoperative evaluation and informed consent, the patient is scheduled for an operative segmental excision of lesions (enterotomy or small colotomy with multiple lesion excisions) without bowel resection requiring anastomosis or creation of a stoma. The procedure is performed in an operating room or ambulatory surgery setting under general anesthesia with standard perioperative antibiotics and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. Intraoperative steps include laparotomy or laparoscopy to expose the affected segment, palpation or intraoperative endoscopy as needed to localize lesions, multiple enterotomies or colotomy incisions to excise lesions, inspection for hemostasis, and closure of the intestinal incisions without exteriorizing bowel or creating an anastomosis. Postoperative workflow includes recovery room monitoring, pain control, diet advancement as tolerated, wound checks, pathology submission of excised tissue, and follow-up for pathology results and further oncologic management if indicated.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`00`	Unspecified	Rarely used; only when no other modifier applies and payer accepts this placeholder
`11`	Primary or first-listed procedure	When `44111` is the primary procedure on the claim
`22`	Increased procedural services	When work or complexity substantially exceeds typical for `44111` (document rationale)
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	When procedure requires general anesthesia in patient with documented difficulty or higher anesthetic risk
`26`	Professional component	When reporting separately measurable professional interpretation component (rare for intraoperative excision)
`50`	Bilateral procedure	When identical lesions are excised in bilateral anatomic paired sites (applicable only if coding rules permit)
`51`	Multiple procedures	When `44111` is billed with other distinct procedures during same operative session
`52`	Reduced services	When the procedure is started but not completed or is intentionally reduced in scope
`53`	Discontinued procedure	When the procedure is terminated due to extenuating circumstances after initiation
`54`	Surgical care only	When another clinician bills for pre- and post-operative care separately from the intraoperative surgeon
`55`	Postoperative management only	When the surgeon provides only postoperative care for `44111`
`58`	Staged or related procedure by the same physician during the postoperative period	When a planned second-stage excision is performed after the initial `44111`
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When a separate, distinct procedural service is performed at a separate site or session and must be distinguished from `44111`

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`408600000X`	General Surgery	Most common specialty performing intestinal lesion excisions
`208800000X`	Colon & Rectal Surgery (Proctology)	Frequently performs colonic lesion excisions and lesion-sparing operations
`363L00000X`	Surgical Oncology	Performs excisions when lesions are malignant or suspicious for malignancy
`207P00000X`	Gastroenterology	May assist with intraoperative endoscopic localization; not primary surgical provider
`1744C0002X`	Pediatric Surgery	Performs similar procedures in pediatric patients when indicated

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`K57.20`	Diverticulosis of large intestine without perforation or abscess	Small localized lesions or diverticular-associated lesions may be excised if symptomatic
`K63.5`	Polyp of colon	Common indication for excision of one or more colonic lesions when endoscopic removal is not feasible
`K63.1`	Ileus of intestine (obstruction not specified)	Lesion excision may be required to relieve partial obstruction caused by intraluminal lesions
`K92.2`	Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, unspecified	Lesions causing bleeding may be surgically excised when endoscopic control fails
`D12.6`	Benign neoplasm of colon, unspecified	Benign tumors that require local excision without bowel resection
`C18.9`	Malignant neoplasm of colon, unspecified	Suspicious or malignant lesions may be excised for diagnosis or palliation when limited excision is appropriate
`K29.2`	Gastritis and duodenitis, chronic (if small intestinal involvement)	Rarely relevant; included when mucosal lesions in proximal small bowel are targeted
`R19.5`	Other fecal abnormality	Occult bleeding or abnormal stool prompting diagnostic and therapeutic excision of lesions

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`44120`	Enterectomy, resection of small intestine; single resection and anastomosis	Performed when lesion requires segmental bowel resection with anastomosis rather than limited excision
`44140`	Colectomy, partial; with anastomosis	Performed when broader colonic resection with anastomosis is required instead of lesion excision
`44204`	Laparoscopy, surgical; colectomy, partial, with anastomosis	Minimally invasive alternative when resection and anastomosis are required
`47562`	Laparoscopy, surgical; cholecystectomy (for concurrent procedures)	Example of an additional abdominal procedure that might be billed during the same operative session when indicated
`43235`	Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, flexible, diagnostic, including collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing, when performed	Intraoperative endoscopy for localization or biopsy adjunct to `44111`
`88305`	Level IV surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination	Pathology billing for examination of excised intestinal lesions

CPT 44100: Small Intestine Biopsy via Oral Capsule

CPT-44110-OPEN-EXCISION-INTESTINAL-LESION-SINGLE-INCISION

CPT 44110: Open Excision of Intestinal Lesion(s), Single Incision

CPT-44120-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-PRIMARY-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44120: Small Intestine Resection with Primary Anastomosis

CPT-44121-ADDITIONAL-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44121: Additional Small Intestine Resection with Anastomosis

CPT-44125-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-WITH-STOMA-CREATION

CPT 44125: Small Intestine Resection with Stoma Creation

CPT-44126-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-CONGENITAL-ATRESIA-END-TO-END-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44126: Small Bowel Resection for Congenital Atresia with End-to-End Anastomosis

CPT-44127-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS-INTESTINAL-ATRESIA

CPT 44127: Small-Bowel Resection with Anastomosis for Intestinal Atresia

CPT-44128-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS-CONGENITAL-ATRESIA

CPT 44128: Small Bowel Resection and Anastomosis for Congenital Atresia

CPT-44130-INTESTINAL-ANASTOMOSIS-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44130: Intestinal Anastomosis, With or Without Stoma

CPT-44132-DONOR-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-PRESERVATION-FOR-TRANSPLANT

CPT 44132: Donor Small Intestine Resection and Cold Preservation

Showing 1–10 of 29

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`00`	Unspecified	Rarely used; only when no other modifier applies and payer accepts this placeholder
`11`	Primary or first-listed procedure	When `44111` is the primary procedure on the claim
`22`	Increased procedural services	When work or complexity substantially exceeds typical for `44111` (document rationale)
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	When procedure requires general anesthesia in patient with documented difficulty or higher anesthetic risk
`26`	Professional component	When reporting separately measurable professional interpretation component (rare for intraoperative excision)
`50`	Bilateral procedure	When identical lesions are excised in bilateral anatomic paired sites (applicable only if coding rules permit)
`51`	Multiple procedures	When `44111` is billed with other distinct procedures during same operative session
`52`	Reduced services	When the procedure is started but not completed or is intentionally reduced in scope
`53`	Discontinued procedure	When the procedure is terminated due to extenuating circumstances after initiation
`54`	Surgical care only	When another clinician bills for pre- and post-operative care separately from the intraoperative surgeon
`55`	Postoperative management only	When the surgeon provides only postoperative care for `44111`
`58`	Staged or related procedure by the same physician during the postoperative period	When a planned second-stage excision is performed after the initial `44111`
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When a separate, distinct procedural service is performed at a separate site or session and must be distinguished from `44111`

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`408600000X`	General Surgery	Most common specialty performing intestinal lesion excisions
`208800000X`	Colon & Rectal Surgery (Proctology)	Frequently performs colonic lesion excisions and lesion-sparing operations
`363L00000X`	Surgical Oncology	Performs excisions when lesions are malignant or suspicious for malignancy
`207P00000X`	Gastroenterology	May assist with intraoperative endoscopic localization; not primary surgical provider
`1744C0002X`	Pediatric Surgery	Performs similar procedures in pediatric patients when indicated

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`K57.20`	Diverticulosis of large intestine without perforation or abscess	Small localized lesions or diverticular-associated lesions may be excised if symptomatic
`K63.5`	Polyp of colon	Common indication for excision of one or more colonic lesions when endoscopic removal is not feasible
`K63.1`	Ileus of intestine (obstruction not specified)	Lesion excision may be required to relieve partial obstruction caused by intraluminal lesions
`K92.2`	Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, unspecified	Lesions causing bleeding may be surgically excised when endoscopic control fails
`D12.6`	Benign neoplasm of colon, unspecified	Benign tumors that require local excision without bowel resection
`C18.9`	Malignant neoplasm of colon, unspecified	Suspicious or malignant lesions may be excised for diagnosis or palliation when limited excision is appropriate
`K29.2`	Gastritis and duodenitis, chronic (if small intestinal involvement)	Rarely relevant; included when mucosal lesions in proximal small bowel are targeted
`R19.5`	Other fecal abnormality	Occult bleeding or abnormal stool prompting diagnostic and therapeutic excision of lesions

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`44120`	Enterectomy, resection of small intestine; single resection and anastomosis	Performed when lesion requires segmental bowel resection with anastomosis rather than limited excision
`44140`	Colectomy, partial; with anastomosis	Performed when broader colonic resection with anastomosis is required instead of lesion excision
`44204`	Laparoscopy, surgical; colectomy, partial, with anastomosis	Minimally invasive alternative when resection and anastomosis are required
`47562`	Laparoscopy, surgical; cholecystectomy (for concurrent procedures)	Example of an additional abdominal procedure that might be billed during the same operative session when indicated
`43235`	Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, flexible, diagnostic, including collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing, when performed	Intraoperative endoscopy for localization or biopsy adjunct to `44111`
`88305`	Level IV surgical pathology, gross and microscopic examination	Pathology billing for examination of excised intestinal lesions

CPT 44100: Small Intestine Biopsy via Oral Capsule

CPT-44110-OPEN-EXCISION-INTESTINAL-LESION-SINGLE-INCISION

CPT 44110: Open Excision of Intestinal Lesion(s), Single Incision

CPT-44120-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-PRIMARY-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44120: Small Intestine Resection with Primary Anastomosis

CPT-44121-ADDITIONAL-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44121: Additional Small Intestine Resection with Anastomosis

CPT-44125-SMALL-INTESTINE-RESECTION-WITH-STOMA-CREATION

CPT 44125: Small Intestine Resection with Stoma Creation

CPT-44126-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-CONGENITAL-ATRESIA-END-TO-END-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44126: Small Bowel Resection for Congenital Atresia with End-to-End Anastomosis

CPT-44127-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS-INTESTINAL-ATRESIA

CPT 44127: Small-Bowel Resection with Anastomosis for Intestinal Atresia

CPT-44128-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS-CONGENITAL-ATRESIA

CPT 44128: Small Bowel Resection and Anastomosis for Congenital Atresia

CPT-44130-INTESTINAL-ANASTOMOSIS-BOWEL-RESECTION-ANASTOMOSIS

CPT 44130: Intestinal Anastomosis, With or Without Stoma

CPT-44132-DONOR-SMALL-BOWEL-RESECTION-PRESERVATION-FOR-TRANSPLANT

CPT 44132: Donor Small Intestine Resection and Cold Preservation

Showing 1–10 of 29

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

OpenPayer

CPT 44111: Excision of Intestinal Lesions, Multiple Incisions

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Billing Code Overview

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CPT 44111: Excision of Intestinal Lesions, Multiple Incisions

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Billing Code Overview

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References