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Orthopedic Coding Alert

Coding Strategies:

Follow These Steps To Gain Clarity And Confidence In Reporting Pressure Sore Treatment

Published on Sun Oct 14, 2012

Extent of debridement and location of the pressure are your main guide.When reporting pressure sores, you may be left perplexed if your surgeon does an ostectomy or excisional debridement. The confusion may become worse if your surgeon uses a flap to close the defect. Below are some tactics to improve your reporting of pressure sore treatment.Identify the Intent of OstectomyYour surgeon may do an ostectomy for reasons more than one. "Actually, you are treating the ulcer by relieving the part of the bone that is causing the ulcer and trying to prevent recurrence," says Bill Mallon, MD, former medical director, Triangle Orthopedic Associates, Durham, N.C. The ostectomy may be done to prepare the base for a muscle or skin flap. In this case, you report code 15937 (Excision, sacral pressure ulcer, in preparation for muscle or myocutaneous flap or skin graft closure; with ostectomy) for sacral ulcer and code 15958 [...]
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