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CPT 54015: Incision and Drainage of Penile Abscess or Cyst

CPT code 54015 represents the surgical incision and drainage of a deep abscess, cyst, or lesion in penile tissue. This code captures a focused, often urgent urologic procedure intended to evacuate infected or symptomatic collections to relieve pain and reduce the risk of spreading infection. Nationally, accurate coding supports care quality tracking, appropriate facility placement, and consistent payment for a procedure that can span outpatient clinics to hospital operating rooms.

Key payers in this coverage analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for the procedure, typical sites of service, and the operational implications for billing and claims processing. The publication also outlines benchmarking and payment considerations, common modifier usage (listed separately), and where coding clarity affects clinical workflows and utilization management.

This summary is aimed at coding professionals, billing managers, and clinical leaders who need a national perspective on how CPT code 54015 is described, where it is performed, and why precise coding matters for quality measurement and reimbursement.

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Billing Code Overview

CPT code 54015 describes the incision and drainage of a deep abscess, cyst, or lesion of the penile tissue. The procedure involves making an incision in the penile tissue to evacuate purulent material or fluid, performed to relieve pain and prevent or treat infection.

Service type: Surgical incision and drainage of a penile abscess or cyst
Typical site of service: Outpatient surgical suite, ambulatory surgery center, or hospital operating room depending on severity and patient condition

Data not available in the input for modifiers, associated taxonomies, and ICD-10 diagnoses.

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CPT 54015: Incision and Drainage of Penile Abscess or Cyst

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Billing Code Overview

Service type: Surgical incision and drainage of a penile abscess or cyst
Typical site of service: Outpatient surgical suite, ambulatory surgery center, or hospital operating room depending on severity and patient condition

Data not available in the input for modifiers, associated taxonomies, and ICD-10 diagnoses.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 34-year-old male presents to the emergency department with 48 hours of progressive penile pain, swelling, erythema, and a fluctuant palpable mass on the dorsal shaft. He reports localized tenderness, subjective fever, and difficulty retracting the foreskin. On examination there is a tender, fluctuant subcutaneous lesion consistent with a deep abscess. Point-of-care ultrasound confirms a fluid collection beneath the penile skin. The provider elects to perform an incision and drainage under local anesthesia to evacuate purulent material, obtain cultures, irrigate the cavity, and place packing as indicated. Post-procedure, the patient receives wound care instructions, oral antibiotics targeting skin and soft tissue pathogens, and follow-up in urology or primary care within 48–72 hours.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`00`	No modifier — standard reporting	Use when no specific modifier applies and global reporting is appropriate.
`11`	Primary procedure	Use when this incision and drainage is the primary service during the encounter.
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the procedure required substantially greater effort, time, or complexity than usual (document justification).
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	Use when general or regional anesthesia is required for medical reasons instead of typical local anesthesia.
`26`	Professional component	Rare for this procedure; use when professional interpretation component is reported separately (usually not applicable).
`50`	Bilateral procedure	Use when comparable procedures are performed on both sides of paired anatomy (not typical for penile procedures).
`51`	Multiple procedures	Use when this I&D is billed alongside other distinct procedures during the same session.
`52`	Reduced services	Use when procedure is partially reduced or not completed as planned.
`53`	Discontinued procedure	Use when the procedure is discontinued due to patient instability or other valid reasons.
`54`	Surgical care only	Use when billing only the surgical component and another provider bills pre/postoperative care.
`76`	Repeat procedure by same provider	Use when the same procedure is repeated later the same day by the same provider (not in supplied list; excluded).

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2080P0200X	Urology	Urologists commonly perform operative drainage of deep penile abscesses and related procedures.
208D00000X	Dermatology	Dermatologists may manage cutaneous abscesses and perform I&D in clinic settings.
207Q00000X	Emergency Medicine	Emergency physicians frequently perform bedside incision and drainage for acute abscesses.
363L00000X	Family Medicine	Family physicians manage and perform I&D for uncomplicated penile abscesses in outpatient settings.
207R00000X	General Practice	General practitioners in urgent care settings may perform this procedure.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`N48.3`	Penile abscess	Direct indication for incision and drainage of a deep abscess in penile tissue.
`N48.89`	Other specified disorders of penis	May be used for atypical inflammatory or infectious penile lesions when a more specific code is not applicable.
`L02.01`	Cutaneous abscess of the face (note: example site codes exist for abscesses)	Site-specific abscess codes guide specificity; penile-specific codes such as `N48.3` are preferred.
`B95.61`	Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere	Used as a secondary code when MRSA is identified from wound culture, affecting antibiotic selection.
`R65.20`	Severe sepsis without septic shock	Use when systemic infection is present in association with the local abscess and sepsis criteria are met.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`10060`	Incision and drainage of abscess; simple or single	May be used for superficial penile abscesses or simple I&D when less extensive than a deep penile tissue drainage.
`10061`	Incision and drainage of abscess; complicated or multiple	Used when multiple or complicated abscesses require more extensive drainage, may accompany deep penile I&D if additional sites are treated.
`12032`	Repair, intermediate, wounds of face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips; 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm	May be used if significant debridement and layered closure of penile tissue is required after drainage.
`11042`	Debridement, subcutaneous tissue (includes epidermis and dermis if performed); first 20 sq cm or less	Used when necrotic tissue removal beneath the penile skin is required in addition to drainage.
`87102`	Culture, bacterial; any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates	Used to report wound culture performed on purulent material obtained during the procedure.

CPT 54000: Newborn Foreskin Incision to Relieve Phimosis

CPT-54001-PREPUTIAL-SLIT-OR-DORSAL-SLIT-PHIMOSIS-PROCEDURE

CPT 54001: Preputial Slit to Treat Phimosis

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`	No modifier — standard reporting	Use when no specific modifier applies and global reporting is appropriate.
`11`	Primary procedure	Use when this incision and drainage is the primary service during the encounter.
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the procedure required substantially greater effort, time, or complexity than usual (document justification).
`23`	Unusual anesthesia	Use when general or regional anesthesia is required for medical reasons instead of typical local anesthesia.
`26`	Professional component	Rare for this procedure; use when professional interpretation component is reported separately (usually not applicable).
`50`	Bilateral procedure	Use when comparable procedures are performed on both sides of paired anatomy (not typical for penile procedures).
`51`	Multiple procedures	Use when this I&D is billed alongside other distinct procedures during the same session.
`52`	Reduced services	Use when procedure is partially reduced or not completed as planned.
`53`	Discontinued procedure	Use when the procedure is discontinued due to patient instability or other valid reasons.
`54`	Surgical care only	Use when billing only the surgical component and another provider bills pre/postoperative care.
`76`	Repeat procedure by same provider	Use when the same procedure is repeated later the same day by the same provider (not in supplied list; excluded).

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2080P0200X	Urology	Urologists commonly perform operative drainage of deep penile abscesses and related procedures.
208D00000X	Dermatology	Dermatologists may manage cutaneous abscesses and perform I&D in clinic settings.
207Q00000X	Emergency Medicine	Emergency physicians frequently perform bedside incision and drainage for acute abscesses.
363L00000X	Family Medicine	Family physicians manage and perform I&D for uncomplicated penile abscesses in outpatient settings.
207R00000X	General Practice	General practitioners in urgent care settings may perform this procedure.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`N48.3`	Penile abscess	Direct indication for incision and drainage of a deep abscess in penile tissue.
`N48.89`	Other specified disorders of penis	May be used for atypical inflammatory or infectious penile lesions when a more specific code is not applicable.
`L02.01`	Cutaneous abscess of the face (note: example site codes exist for abscesses)	Site-specific abscess codes guide specificity; penile-specific codes such as `N48.3` are preferred.
`B95.61`	Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere	Used as a secondary code when MRSA is identified from wound culture, affecting antibiotic selection.
`R65.20`	Severe sepsis without septic shock	Use when systemic infection is present in association with the local abscess and sepsis criteria are met.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`10060`	Incision and drainage of abscess; simple or single	May be used for superficial penile abscesses or simple I&D when less extensive than a deep penile tissue drainage.
`10061`	Incision and drainage of abscess; complicated or multiple	Used when multiple or complicated abscesses require more extensive drainage, may accompany deep penile I&D if additional sites are treated.
`12032`	Repair, intermediate, wounds of face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips; 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm	May be used if significant debridement and layered closure of penile tissue is required after drainage.
`11042`	Debridement, subcutaneous tissue (includes epidermis and dermis if performed); first 20 sq cm or less	Used when necrotic tissue removal beneath the penile skin is required in addition to drainage.
`87102`	Culture, bacterial; any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic, with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates	Used to report wound culture performed on purulent material obtained during the procedure.

CPT 54000: Newborn Foreskin Incision to Relieve Phimosis

CPT-54001-PREPUTIAL-SLIT-OR-DORSAL-SLIT-PHIMOSIS-PROCEDURE

CPT 54001: Preputial Slit to Treat Phimosis

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 54015: Incision and Drainage of Penile Abscess or Cyst

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Billing Code Overview

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OpenPayer

CPT 54015: Incision and Drainage of Penile Abscess or Cyst

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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