Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert
28296 or 28306 for Crescentic Osteotomy
Question: New York Subscriber Answer: One option is to use 28296 (Correction, hallux valgus [bunion], with or without sesamoidectomy; with metatarsal osteotomy [e.g., Mitchell, Chevron, or concentric type procedures). The second option is to select 28306 (Osteotomy, with or without lengthening, shortening, or angular correction, metatarsal; first metatarsal). In a crescentic osteotomy procedure, the proximal portion of the first metatarsal is the subject of the osteotomy. The descriptor for 28306 more closely matches the procedure for a crescentic osteotomy. The procedure requires fixation, and the patient must keep weight off the foot for several weeks. According to the Coders Desk Reference, code 28306 represents a procedure in which "weight bearing is protected for several weeks" -- similar to a crescentic osteotomy. No mention of this weight-bearing protection is made for 28296. So 28306 would really be the more appropriate code choice.
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