[Diagnosis Related Groups in reconstructive plastic surgery of malignant head and neck skin tumours].

[BACKGROUND] Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) were introduced in Germany as a medico-economic classification system 13 years ago. In this analysis, we looked into the compensation for reconstructive plastic surgery after the excision of malignant head and neck skin tumours by DRGs.

[MATERIAL AND METHODS] Four main diagnoses (malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ) at a maximum of 6 different locations in the head and neck were combined with the following procedures: excision and primary wound closure, excision with temporary soft tissue coverage, split-thickness or full-thickness skin grafting, local, free or regional pedicle flaps, distant flaps as well as combined procedures for coverage.

[RESULTS] We defined 10 different DRGs based on 5750 combinations of diagnoses and procedures. DRG J22Z (revenue: EUR 2817) predominated for large temporary soft tissue coverage and skin grafting techniques. In 2017, local flaps were devaluated and now lead to DRG J11D (revenue: EUR 1903) in most cases. In this context, an aggregation of cases by a two-stage approach (stage 1: excision, stage 2: reconstruction) is particularly important. Malignant tumours of the lips are inconsistently represented by DRGs with a lack of definite rules. The highly rated main group DRG J08 (including DRGs J08A, J08B and J08C) can be achieved almost invariably by addition of specific single procedures.

[CONCLUSION] The current representation of reconstructive surgery for malignant skin tumours by DRGs is associated with potential disincentive effects, which may have an impact on patient care. In search of a diversified portfolio, the main group DRG J08 should be considered in addition to the common practice of coding. The authors of this study think that this may be a possibility to compensate for the actual devaluation and to achieve resource-related reimbursement in high-cost cases. However, incorrect and inflationary use should be avoided due to the lack of long-term orientation caused by dilution of the DRGs.