Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Washington, D.C. Subscriber

Answer: For this encounter, you’ll report Q06.1(Hypoplasia and dysplasia of spinal cord) to represent the patient’s atelomyelia.

Dx reasoning: While atelomyelia isn’t spelled out in any of the descriptors in ICD-10, it is listed as an alternate term under Q06.1. Per ICD-10, other alternate terms for Q06.1 are myelatelia and myelodysplasia of spinal cord.

Caveat: Atelomyelia is a nonspecific, obsolete term that describes a spinal cord malformation, typically referring to syringomyelia or a neural tube defect. Though it is listed under Q06.1, you aren’t likely to see this specific diagnosis often.