Q: A 24 year old male is admitted after a fight. His facial CT demonstrates multiple linear fractures of the mandible, including L condyle, L body and R ramus. There is a deep laceration overlying the left portion of his jaw. The fractures are described as minimally displaced. How would you code these injuries?

A: These injuries present something of a dilemma. The rules and guidelines that apply include: Code bilateral mandible fractures as a single injury. Displacement must be significant (guideline added to AIS 2005 dictionary). With open fractures, do not code the overlying skin injury. The best choice is to use 250610.2. Open/displaced/comminuted but NFS as to site. Note that even though the displacement is minimal, the code is chosen for the open fracture rather than displacement.