S52.56

Barton's fracture

FY2027Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes/S50–S59 Injuries to the elbow and forearm

Non-billable headerNot valid on its own. Use one of the more specific codes under it.

S52.56 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code header for barton's fracture. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. The more specific codes under it are S52.561 Barton's fracture of right radius, S52.562 Barton's fracture of left radius and S52.569 Barton's fracture of unspecified radius. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction, 1 Excludes1 entry and 9 Excludes2 entries.

7th characters

Every code below needs one of these (defined at S52).

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52

  • Ainitial encounter for closed fracture
  • Binitial encounter for open fracture type I or II (initial encounter for open fracture NOS)
  • Cinitial encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC
  • Dsubsequent encounter for closed fracture with routine healing
  • Esubsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with routine healing
  • Fsubsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with routine healing
  • Gsubsequent encounter for closed fracture with delayed healing
  • Hsubsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with delayed healing
  • Jsubsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with delayed healing
  • Ksubsequent encounter for closed fracture with nonunion
  • Msubsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion
  • Nsubsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with nonunion
  • Psubsequent encounter for closed fracture with malunion
  • Qsubsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion
  • Rsubsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with malunion
  • Ssequela

Guidelines tips

From the FY2027 Official Guidelines. ICD10Ref adds no rules of its own.

A fracture not stated as open or closed is coded closed, and one not stated as displaced or not displaced is coded displaced. Nonunion and malunion have their own 7th characters.

Guidelines I.C.19.cTraumatic fractures: open, closed, displaced and 7th charactersRead the official text

The 7th character depends on whether the patient is in active treatment, not on who sees the patient. An aftercare Z code is not used for injury aftercare.

Guidelines I.C.19.aInjuries: application of 7th charactersRead the official text

Each injury gets its own code unless a combination code exists, with the most serious injury first. Superficial injuries at the same site as a more severe injury are not coded. Injuries during medical care are coded as complications.

Guidelines I.C.19.bCoding of injuriesRead the official text

Use additional code

Add the listed code as a secondary code, if known.

Also from chapter/block level (1 note)
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • code to identify any retained foreign body, if applicable (Z18.-)

Excludes1

Not coded here. The listed conditions generally should not be reported together.

Inherited from S52 Fracture of forearm
  • traumatic amputation of forearm (S58.-)

Excludes2

Not included here. Both codes may be reported if the patient has both conditions.

Inherited from S52.5 Fracture of lower end of radius
  • physeal fractures of lower end of radius (S59.2-)
Inherited from S52 Fracture of forearm
  • fracture at wrist and hand level (S62.-)
  • periprosthetic fracture around internal prosthetic elbow joint (M97.4)
Also from chapter/block level (6 notes)
Inherited from S50–S59 Injuries to the elbow and forearm
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • birth trauma (P10-P15)
  • obstetric trauma (O70-O71)

Notes

Inherited from S52 Fracture of forearm
  • A fracture not indicated as displaced or nondisplaced should be coded to displaced
  • A fracture not indicated as open or closed should be coded to closed
  • The open fracture designations are based on the Gustilo open fracture classification
Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • Use secondary code(s) from Chapter 20, External causes of morbidity, to indicate cause of injury. Codes within the T section that include the external cause do not require an additional external cause code
  • The chapter uses the S-section for coding different types of injuries related to single body regions and the T-section to cover injuries to unspecified body regions as well as poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.

Alphabetic Index terms

Terms the official Alphabetic Index lists for this code. 1 entry

More specific codes under S52.56 3