# Ulnar Collateral Ligament Sprain of Thumb ICD-10?



## littlelora (Aug 12, 2016)

Hi all....Im having a bit of trouble coding an ulnar collateral ligament sprain of the left thumb. Any help is very appreciated!


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## Pam Brooks (Aug 12, 2016)

I walked this through the encoder.  If you code for the ulnar collateral ligament sprain, it points you to either elbow or traumatic rupture.  Using thumb sprain, I came up with S63.682A Other sprain of left thumb, initial encounter.   That's a weird one.


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## littlelora (Aug 12, 2016)

That's where it kept leading me, the elbow. It is a weird one! Thanks for your help!


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## AlanPechacek (Aug 16, 2016)

A "Sprain" of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament of the thumb as an acute or subacute injury (current), as opposed to a chronic condition, often goes by the name of Game Keeper's Thumb &/or Skier's Thumb.  As a current injury, this would be S63.64 _ _ (Sprain of the Metacarpophalangeal Joint of the thumb, but without specifying radial or ulnar collateral ligaments).  However, if this is an old sprain/ligamentous injury, i.e. a chronic condition, then it would come under M24.2: Disorder of the Ligaments (Chronic Instability secondary to old ligamentous injury).  The _5th Character_ would be 4 for hand, and the _6th_ _Character_ would be for laterality.

Hope this helps.

Respectfully submitted, Alan Pechacek, M.D.
icd10orthocoder.com


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