Wiki Bimalleolar Fractures

[amicotaylor]

Ok so- The doctor says there is a distal fibula fx and a distal tibia fx.
Some of our coders assume to use the 824.4 Bimall fx code, while some choose to use 823.82 which is Tib/Fib NOS, (because he does not specifically say Bimalleolar).
But we all use the same codes for distal tib (824.0 Medial Mall) and distal fib (824.2 Lateral Mall). So wouldn't it okay to assume these 2 distals would be a bimalleolar fracture??

Just wanted some outside opinions from other ortho coders.
Thanks!

 

[PLAIDMAN]

Ok so- The doctor says there is a distal fibula fx and a distal tibia fx.
Some of our coders assume to use the 824.4 Bimall fx code, while some choose to use 823.82 which is Tib/Fib NOS, (because he does not specifically say Bimalleolar).
But we all use the same codes for distal tib (824.0 Medial Mall) and distal fib (824.2 Lateral Mall). So wouldn't it okay to assume these 2 distals would be a bimalleolar fracture??

Just wanted some outside opinions from other ortho coders.
Thanks!

I would not assume this, I would ask doc for clarification, otherwise I would probably use 824.8, you can have fx's at the ankle that do not include any malleolus. Their documentation for sure will not meet ICD-10.