May 17, 2024

I have a unique situation with an open fx. I have a 7 year old who was playing with his brother with a golf club and was hit in the face. He is a tx from another facility and seen in our ED and discharged home from the ed. He has a left mandibular body fx that is comminuted displaced and open. He also has a left lower jaw laceration 2.0 cm and an intraoral mucosal lac 0.5 cm. Plastic surgery repairs both lacs and he is sent home. My question is do I pick up the lacerations in the dx or not because they are considered part of the open fx? This would make it that I am having two laceration repairs and irrigations without a laceration dx in the procedure section. Is it just assumed that they are both from the open fx? Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated.

You won’t code separately any laceration that is part of the open fracture, with the wound and fracture communicating. You should go ahead and code the procedures, yes, it is okay that there is no separate laceration diagnosis. It is understood that an open fracture has an open wound (or multiple) associated.

Can't find an answer to your question? No problem simply submit your question via email.