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Orthopedic Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Do Not Confuse Distal Tibial Fracture for Malleolar Fracture

Published on Wed Feb 15, 2012

Question: What code would I use for a closed reduction of a distal tibial/fibular fracture? Can we report 27752?Ohio SubscriberAnswer: According to CPT®, 27810 (Closed treatment of bimalleolar ankle fracture [eg, lateral and medial malleoli, or lateral and posterior malleoli or medial and posterior malleoli]; with manipulation) is used to report fractures of the distal fibula. Because the distal portion of the tibia/fibula involves the ankle and not the shaft portion of the lower leg, you report 27810 for a distal tibial/fibular fracture. When you are confronted with a diagnosis of distal tibia fracture, always check with your surgeon to see if the fracture involves the weight bearing articular surface; if so, you would report code 27825 (Closed treatment of fracture of weight bearing articular portion of distal tibia [eg, pilon or tibial plafond], with or without anesthesia; with skeletal traction and/or requiring manipulation) instead of 27810.CPT® code 27752 (Closed [...]
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