A 10-year-old girl comes to her pediatrician's office after smashing the nail of her right 2nd digit in the car door the previous night. This morning, the tip of her finger is edematous, there is a large amount of ecchymosis present, and the pain is worse than when the injury initially occurred. The pediatrician uses a disposable Bovie high-temperature cautery pen to cauterize a hole in the nail to allow the subungual hematoma to drain. A small amount of serosanguineous fluid is removed and pain rapidly decreased. Which of the following codes should you use?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11740 is correct because the subungual hematoma was able to be evacuated by using a disposable Bovie cautery pen in the office.
Code 11720 is incorrect because there was no debridement done of the nail. Code 11730 is incorrect because there was no avulsion and 11750 is incorrect because there was no excision of the nail for permanent removal

A 10-Year-Old Girl Comes to Her Pediatrician's Office After Smashing