Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: If a patient has a lateral and posterior fracture of the fibula, is this considered a bimalleolar fracture? Is it bimalleolar only when the lateral and medial malleolar are fractured?

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Answer: The lateral malleoius is the outer prominence of the ankle at the distal end of the fibula. The medial malleolus is the inner prominence of the ankle at the distal end of the tibia. The posterior malleolus is the posterior joint aspect of the tibia. A bimalleolar fracture is fractures of both malleoli of the ankle. For the injury you describe, report 824.2.
 
  Answers to Reader Questions and You Be the Coder were provided by Terry Fletcher, BS, CPC, CCS-P, CCS, a healthcare coding consultant based in Laguna Beach, Calif.; and Heidi Stout, CPC, CCS-P, coding and reimbursement manager at University Orthopedic Associates in New Brunswick, N.J.