General Surgery Coding Alert

Question: A patient presented with multiple friction "burns" from a treadmill. He had partial thickness friction burns to one hand, both ankles, and one foot. He had a full thickness friction burn down to the fascia on two fingers. Our surgeon cleaned all burns with Shur-Clens® and debrided the loose skin, applied Silvadene®, and applied gauze and dressings to all burn areas. What codes should we report -- should we use burn codes?Maine SubscriberAnswer: ICD-9 does not classify friction burns as "burns" -- rather, you should report them with a code from category 910-919 (Superficial injury). You should report the surgeon's service with an appropriate wound management code based on the documentation, such as 97602 (Removal of devitalized tissue from wound[s], non-selective debridement, without anesthesia (eg, wet-to-moist dressings, enzymatic, abrasion), including topical application[s], wound assessment and instruction[s] for ongoing care, per session).4th digit classifies 'friction burns': ICD-9 categories 910-919 represent superficial injury [...]