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Wiki what's considered an open fracture?

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LNM

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There has been discussions in the office with no final resolution so some input from other coders would be nice.
If a patient presents with a fractured finger and a laceration that requires sutures, would the fracture be considered opened? The laceration is a simple repair requiring no layered sutures.
 
LNM said:
There has been discussions in the office with no final resolution so some input from other coders would be nice.
If a patient presents with a fractured finger and a laceration that requires sutures, would the fracture be considered opened? The laceration is a simple repair requiring no layered sutures.
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"If the bone breaks in such a way that bone fragments stick out through the skin or a wound penetrates down to the broken bone, the fracture is called an "open" or compound fracture. For example, when a pedestrian is struck by the bumper of a moving car, the broken shinbone may protrude through a tear in the skin and other soft tissues."-AAOS
 
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