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preventive amputation

S

solocoder

Expert
Messages
458
Location
springfield, MO
When a patient only has 3 toes left on a foot, and one has osteomyelitis, doctor also amputates the 2 healthy ones to prevent injury, can anyone tell what would be the correct dx code for amputating those 2 healthy toes?
Is it OK to link the osteomyelitis code to those also?

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
I would link it. Patient has Osteomyelitis, whether in one toe or the whole foot. Does the patient have any other problems like, diabetes, gangrene, infection, ulcers? You can also use V49.7_(lower limb amputation status) also as a diagnosis. I know when I code for fracture care and the doctor is assuming the patient will have an impending pathological fracture due to neoplasm. I code for the pathological fracture then the neoplasm second, cause eventually the patient will sustain the fracture due to the cancer.
 
You cannot code a condition just because the payient might have it. So no to coding an impending pathological fracture as a fracture. These are patient diagnosis codes and if the patient does not have that condition in that area then you cannot code it as being present.
I would use V07.8 for the unaffected toes.
 
You should read the coding guidelines, anything documented as possible probable or suspected cannot be coded. You code only confirmed diagnosis. You need to know what is documented in the note note.
 
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