Skin cell suspension autografting or SCSA has been developed as a direct, spray-on type of graft application of the patient’s own harvested and processed skin cells. It can be used on thermal burn injuries, degloving injuries or areas where skin tissue has been surgically removed due to a necrotizing infection for example.
Skin cell suspension grafting is an alternative method to split-thickness skin grafting (STSG) or it can be used in conjunction with a STSG.
The great benefit of SCSA is that the entire harvesting, preparation and application process can be done at the same point of care as the patient.
For 2025, CPT has introduced eight new codes within their integumentary surgery section to reflect this newer approach in skin graft wound care. These are codes 15011-15018.
- For harvesting epidermal and dermal skin: Use codes 15011, +15012
- Code selection is by surface area of skin harvested for skin cell suspension.
- Do not report if the harvesting is done using an automated process.
- For preparation of the SCSA: Use codes 15013, +15014
- Code selection is by surface area of skin harvested and requiring enzymatic processing, manual mechanical disaggregation and filtration.
- For application of the SCSA: Use codes 15015, +15016, 15017 and +15018
- Code selection is by surface area of skin receiving the skin cell application and the location of the body involved.
There are coding nuances, however, with CPT guidance telling us that we can still report the surgical preparation of the recipient site separately (codes 15002-15005).
Also separately reportable would be the placement of an additional autograft such as a STSG or a full-thickness skin graft prior to application of the SCSA (codes 15040-15261).
References:
AMA (2024) CPT 2025 Professional Edition.
SA Barnett et al (2021) Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online 3, Use of Autologous Skin Cell Suspension for the Treatment of Hand Burns: A Pilot Study. 117-123
Carol Paton, MSc, PG Cert., CPC, CPMA
Senior Coding Educator
Carol brings over 20 years of industry experience to her role as a Senior Coding Educator at Haugen Consulting Group. With a background in nursing, Carol brings a unique perspective to coding education, allowing her to communicate effectively with both coders and providers to ensure a high-quality learning experience.
A proven self-starter and valuable team member, Carol excels at motivating and developing others while building positive relationships across teams and departments. Her career spans several large specialty health systems, where she has served as a coding auditor and educator, delivering targeted education across various service lines.
Are the harvesting, preparation and application codes intended to be used with one specific device?
Hi Lidia – Here is the reply from Haugen Academy’s experts!
A harvested, small thin split-thickness skin sample (done for example with a dermatome) could be processed by a device such as the FDA-approved RECELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device. This device processes the harvested skin sample to produce a skin cell suspension and the device also includes nozzles that attach to syringes and can be used to aerosolize the cell suspension onto a wound.
However, the code descriptors in CPT (2025) do not specify that one specific device is used, stating that SCSA involves “harvesting of skin and preparing a suspension of autologous skin cells for direct spray-on application for treatment’.
Additionally, to report codes 15013 and 15014, the preparation of the SCSA does require enzymatic processing, manual disaggregation of skin cells and filtration of the final suspension, but again, the use of a specific device is not required either per the code descriptor, nor the guidelines.