Wiki Nail removed from mcp/no fracture or dislocation

[MGarza]

I am trying to find a procedure for a foreign body (nail) removal that went throught the metacarpal of the hand. No repair or sutures were needed & there was no fracture or dislocation. The physician removed the nail with sterile pliers & then irrigated the wound. I was going to use px 10121, but I am not sure if this is appropriate. Please let me know if you have any ideas... thank you.

 

[donnalynn]

I am trying to find a procedure for a foreign body (nail) removal that went throught the metacarpal of the hand. No repair or sutures were needed & there was no fracture or dislocation. The physician removed the nail with sterile pliers & then irrigated the wound. I was going to use px 10121, but I am not sure if this is appropriate. Please let me know if you have any ideas... thank you.

Procedure code 10120-10121 is used when the physician has to make an incision in the skin to remove the foreign body. He uses hemostats or forceps to retrieve the FB. 10121 is used if the procedure is more complicated, requiring dissection of underlying tissues. By your documentation, it sounds like what the physician did is included in the E/M. If he administered a nerve block to numb the area then you could code for that but if he did not then no procedure to code.