Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert
Podiatrist Amputated At Interphalangeal Joint? Do This
Question: The podiatrist made an incision on patient’s skin over the interphalangeal joint. He then dissected down through subcutaneous tissue to access the interphalangeal joint. He incised the capsule and separated the phalanx from the other phalanx. The podiatrist ligated the blood vessels and retracted the nerves. He then transected and divided the muscles’ tendons. He finally resected the toe at the interphalangeal joint. Which CPT® code should we report for this procedure? Alaska Subscriber Answer: You should report 28825 (Amputation, toe; interphalangeal joint) when the podiatrist amputates a patient’s toe at the interphalangeal joint. An interphalangeal joint is a joint between the two bones, called phalanges, in a toe. On the other hand, if the podiatrist amputated the toe along with the metatarsal, you would report 28810 (Amputation, metatarsal, with toe, single). And if the podiatrist amputates the toe at a metatarsophalangeal joint, you would report 28820 (Amputation, toe; metatarsophalangeal joint).
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