ICD 10 Coding Alert

Question: What is the correct ICD-9 code for a mucous fistula encountered during a transverse colectomy performed by our surgeon?Ohio SubscriberAnswer: Based on the procedure you mention, we'll assume that this is an intestinal fistula. If that is the case, the proper ICD-9 code is 569.81 (Fistula of intestine, excluding rectum and anus).ICD-9 lists the following fistula site examples for this code: abdominal wall, enterocolic, enteroenteric, ileorectal. The code excludes fistula of intestine to internal organs.Prepare for ICD-10: You should begin to familiarize yourself with the ICD-10 code set. You'll report the same condition in ICD-10 as K63.2 (Fistula of intestine).Documentation detail needed: This example points out the need for more complete documentation once ICD-10 is in place. You can see that K63.2 has a large "excludes" list, as follows, and you'd need more information than you provided in your question to ensure that you've selected the proper code:Excludes1:fistula of [...]