G83.82

Billable

Anterior cord syndrome

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 254 — Monoplegia, Other Paralytic Syndromes

0.000

V24HCC 104 — Monoplegia, Other Paralytic Syndromes

0.304

ESRDHCC 104 — Monoplegia, Other Paralytic Syndromes

0.000

What This Code Means

A spinal cord injury affecting the front portion of the spinal cord, causing weakness or paralysis in the legs and loss of pain and temperature sensation, while preserving some touch sensation.

Coding Tips

•Document the spinal cord level affected to provide complete clinical information
•Identify the etiology (trauma, ischemia, tumor) for comprehensive coding

Clinical Significance

Anterior cord syndrome results from damage to the anterior two-thirds of the spinal cord, typically from vascular injury or trauma, causing bilateral motor paralysis and loss of pain/temperature sensation below the lesion while preserving proprioception and light touch. This is one of the most common incomplete spinal cord injury patterns and has a poorer prognosis for motor recovery than Brown-Sequard or central cord syndromes.

Documentation Requirements

✓Explicit documentation of anterior cord syndrome
✓Description of bilateral motor loss with preserved posterior column function
✓Spinal cord level of involvement
✓Underlying etiology (anterior spinal artery occlusion, trauma, disc herniation)
✓Motor and sensory examination documenting the deficit pattern
✓Functional status and rehabilitation potential
✓Active management plan

Commonly Confused Codes

G83.81 Brown-Sequard syndrome — hemisection pattern with crossed deficits, not bilateral G83.83 Posterior cord syndrome — opposite pattern (posterior column loss with preserved motor)G82.22 Paraplegia, incomplete — bilateral lower extremity paralysis but without the specific anterior cord pattern G95.19 Other vascular myelopathies — vascular cause of spinal cord damage without specifying the syndrome

Code Hierarchy

└G83Other paralytic syndromes └G83.8Other specified paralytic syndromes └G83.82Anterior cord syndrome

└G83.82Anterior cord syndrome