Not sure which way to go with this one, mostly because of the site. Part of the op note reads:
The talonavicular joint spike was identified. An incision was made....and carried down to the underlying soft tissues which were carefully dissected off the joint. The joint was then exposed and a sharp needle inserted and again the C-arm used to verify where the osteophyte was. It was able to be removed with a rongeur.
In the H&P he says the osteophyte is on the navicular bone, but in the post-op Dx, he says "osteophyte, talonavicular joint."
I asked a fellow coder how she would code it and she came up with 28020, which is "arthrotomy, including exploration, drainage or removal of loose or foreign body, intertarsal or tarsometatarsal joint."
I don't have the exact code I came up with right now, but I went removal of osteophyte from a joint and I ended up with something to do with the soft tissue. Any suggestions?
The talonavicular joint spike was identified. An incision was made....and carried down to the underlying soft tissues which were carefully dissected off the joint. The joint was then exposed and a sharp needle inserted and again the C-arm used to verify where the osteophyte was. It was able to be removed with a rongeur.
In the H&P he says the osteophyte is on the navicular bone, but in the post-op Dx, he says "osteophyte, talonavicular joint."
I asked a fellow coder how she would code it and she came up with 28020, which is "arthrotomy, including exploration, drainage or removal of loose or foreign body, intertarsal or tarsometatarsal joint."
I don't have the exact code I came up with right now, but I went removal of osteophyte from a joint and I ended up with something to do with the soft tissue. Any suggestions?