# Dog bites vs abrasions, lacerations and puncture wounds?



## Rebekah Harris (Apr 12, 2016)

A patient is described as being bitten by a dog, but each wound is being described by size as a laceration and a puncture wound, and abrasions are also listed.  While listing these injuries should they be coded as the lacerations and puncture wounds like the physician described, or should they all be coded as open bites?

I have W54.0XXA, Y92.009.  Then I could do S01.112A for the laceration or S01.152A if it needs to be listed as a bite; S01.431A for one of the puncture wounds or S01.451 if it needs to be a bite; and S01.432A for the other puncture wound or S01.452 if it needs to be a bite.  And I have S00.81XA for the abrasions. 

Or would the W54.0XXA clear up the dog bites and the wounds should be listed as the physician described?

I don't know why I am letting this confuse me! Thanks!  

Rebekah H., CPC-A


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## LuckyLily (Apr 13, 2016)

I have had to code this situation before and I did it as an open bite. It is the bite that caused the laceration. Then of course use the external cause codes.


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## KALPANA_K@DELL.COM (Apr 25, 2019)

*Dog bite Vs Laceration*

The patient comes with dogbite, in impression soft tissue laceration is proved. we have to code dog bite or laceration


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## mitchellde (Apr 25, 2019)

first go to bite then site of the bite then it will specify either open bite or superficial bite.  Sounds like you have an open bite.  The W54 code for bitten by dog is the external cause of the injury, not the injury.  external cause codes never are to be listen first then are listed last to explain the reason for the injury.
for instance dog bite to left hand
bite
  hand - S61.45-
this is what the index to diseases will give you for the injury from there go to S61.45 in the tabular to obtain the rest of the code.
using the index to external causes go to 
bitten by
  dog -W54-


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## KALPANA_K@DELL.COM (Nov 11, 2019)

Thank you for your response


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