ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: We saw a patient who presented with lacerations of the great toe without nail damage. Which diagnosis code refers to this condition?

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Answer: For a laceration of the great toe without nail damage, without a foreign body, you would look to the following codes:

• S91.111- (Laceration without foreign body of right great toe without damage to nail)
• S91.112- (Laceration without foreign body of left great toe without damage to nail)
• S91.113- (Laceration without foreign body of unspecified great toe without damage to nail).

On the other hand, if the ED physician does document a foreign body, then you would look to these codes:

• S91.121- (Laceration with foreign body of right great toe without damage to nail)
• S91.122- (Laceration with foreign body of left great toe without damage to nail)
• S91.123- (Laceration with foreign body of unspecified great toe without damage to nail).

Example:  A patient came in with a laceration on his right great toe that he sustained with an axe while chopping wood in his backyard. There was no damage to his nail. This was an initial encounter. You would report S91.111A (Laceration without foreign body of right great toe without damage to nail, initial encounter) for the diagnosis and W27.0XXA (Contact with workbench tool, initial encounter) for the external cause code.

Don’t miss: Other tools included under code W27.0- are an auger, chisel, handsaw, and screwdriver.