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Orthopedic Coding Alert

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Correctly Code Crush Injury of Hand

Published on Mon Apr 11, 2011

Question: We have a patient who had a severe crush injury of the left hand which led to a comminuted fracture of the left 3rd and 5th metacarpals with an intra-articular fracture of the proximal phalanx of the left index finger. The physician's documentation indicates the following:There was also a soft tissue defect over the left proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of the middle finger. After taking samples for culture, the wounds were meticulously débrided and curetted. Bony structures were evident over the 3rd metacarpal as well as on the PIP of the middle finger where the defect was about 3-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches. The area of the dorsum of the PIP joint of the left middle finger was about ¾ inch x ¾ inch. Debridement and irrigation was done using 6 liters of saline with the gravity Patzakis technique and 1 liter of antibiotic. After the wound was washed, X-rays [...]
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