Pathological fracture in oth disease, left tibia, init

This code signifies a fracture of the left tibia that occurred due to an underlying disease process, rather than trauma. It indicates that the patient is receiving initial treatment for this specific fracture. The underlying disease weakens the bone, making it susceptible to fracture with minimal or no force.

Use this code when documentation clearly states a pathological fracture of the left tibia and specifies that the patient is in the initial phase of treatment. This typically applies to fractures caused by conditions such as osteoporosis, metastatic cancer, Paget's disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta. Documentation should explicitly link the fracture to a systemic disease.

• Ensure the documentation specifies "pathological fracture" and identifies the left tibia as the fracture site.
• Confirm the encounter is for the initial treatment of the fracture; subsequent encounters will require different seventh characters.
• Always code the underlying disease causing the pathological fracture first, followed by this code.