For certain tibia pilon or tibia plateau fracture presentations, my providers will utilize a uniplane external fixator to distract the knee or ankle joint so that the fracture can be visualized and repaired. The fixator is removed at the end of the same surgery. Some of my providers will attach a 20690 [application of external fixator, uniplane] on the charges for the operation in addition to the open fracture treatment. Has anyone found any documentation as to whether an ex fix can be billed when used in this way? To me, this seems like a more advanced version of the "separate procedure" status code (20650: application of pin with skeletal traction, including removal). However, I know that an external fixator is considered a different type of treatment than skeletal traction.
Thank you for reading!
-Wesley
Thank you for reading!
-Wesley