EmailAdding specific injury codes to accidental laceration/perforation during surgery codes
Publication Date: June 2020
Implementation Date: 1/07/2020
ICD 10 AM Edition: Eleventh Edition
Query Number: 3421
Should an unintentional perforation of the mesentery occurring during a surgical procedure only have code K91.68 Accidental puncture and laceration of peritoneum during a procedure assigned, or should code S36.82 Injury of mesentery be added to provide further specificity of the site?
Response
VICC advises that for unintentional perforation of the mesentery occurring during a surgical procedure and meeting ACS 0002 Additional diagnoses, only K91.68 Accidental puncture and laceration of peritoneum during a procedure is assigned, along with appropriate external cause codes. An additional code for injury of mesentery is not assigned.
As per the ACE Coding Rule TN1504 Eleventh Edition ACS 1904 Procedural complications – additional code to add specificity "the instruction in the ACS regarding 'an additional code from Chapters 1 to 19 may be assigned where it provides further specificity', is intended to provide further specificity of the condition, not an anatomical site", and "the purpose of S codes in Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes is to classify injuries due to trauma (ie an injury not related to an intervention)".
As per the ACE Coding Rule TN1504 Eleventh Edition ACS 1904 Procedural complications – additional code to add specificity "the instruction in the ACS regarding 'an additional code from Chapters 1 to 19 may be assigned where it provides further specificity', is intended to provide further specificity of the condition, not an anatomical site", and "the purpose of S codes in Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes is to classify injuries due to trauma (ie an injury not related to an intervention)".
