Orthopedic Coding Alert

Key: Laterality becomes important. 

Lesion of plantar nerve means that the patient presents with damaged tissue on the plantar nerve. To report the correct code you must specify which limb the plantar nerve lesion occurred in. 

ICD-9-CM Code: Currently, you should report this condition with 355.6 (Lesion of plantar nerve).

ICD-10-CM Codes: However, you have more options once your diagnosis coding system changes. They are:

• G57.60, Lesion of plantar nerve, unspecified lower limb
• G57.61, Lesion of plantar nerve, right lower limb
• G57.62, Lesion of plantar nerve, left lower limb

ICD-10-CM Change: After October 1, 2015, you will need to report the code based on which limb the plantar nerve lesion occurred in. You do have codes for unspecified, but you should always code to the highest specificity. 

Documentation: The provider probably already specifies which limb the plantar nerve lesion occurred in, but now you have new codes to reflect that. 

The provider may simply document this as “Morton’s metatarsalgia.”

Here is how you will locate this code in the Alphabetical Index:

Lesion(s) (nontraumatic)

- - plantar G57.6-

Metatarsalgia M77.4-

- anterior G57.6-
- Morton’s G57.6-

Mononeuritis G58.9

- plantar nerve G57.6-

Morton’s metatarsalgia (neuralgia)(neuroma) (syndrome) G57.6-

Neuralgia, neuralgic (acute) M79.2

- Morton’s G57.6-

Coding tips: You will see an Excludes 1 note under the G57- category stating that you should not report these codes with codes specifying a current traumatic nerve disorder (see nerve injury by body region).