Orthopedic Coding Alert
Rely on Anatomical Area for This Calf Injury Dx
Question: Encounter notes indicate a patient suffers from “crushing injury, L calf.” This was the initial visit by the patient for this injury. What is a crushing injury, and how should I choose a diagnosis code for the patient? I couldn’t find an ICD-10 code for crushing injury specific to the calf. Arizona Subscriber Answer: For this patient, you’ll choose S87.82XA (Crushing injury of left lower leg, initial encounter). You won’t find an ICD-10 code for crushing injury specific to the calf — lower leg is as granular as it gets. Crushing injury defined: When a patient suffers this type of injury to their lower leg, the cause is often crushing by a heavy weight; the patient might have also had their lower leg squeezed between two objects. However, it happens, crushing injuries to the leg are serious; they can result resulting in an open wound, fractured bones — not to mention potential damage to blood vessels, muscles, tendons, and nerves. 
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