Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert
Unravel This Curious Toe Tangle
Question: The physician removed a “hair tourniquet” of human hair wound tightly around a patient’s left great toe. There was no injury, but the toe was irritated. What diagnosis code should we report? AAPC Forum Participant Answer: Your best choice is S90.442 (External constriction, left great toe). Because this was the initial encounter for the complaint and they are actively being treated for the condition, you would choose the 7th character A (Initial encounter). The complete ICD-10-CM code would then be S90.442A. Consider this: You should also include the cause for the injury as W49.01XA (External constriction caused by hair, initial encounter) on the claim. This will provide more specific information about the injury to the payer.
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