S00.252A vs S00.252D

S00.252A (Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, initial encounter) compared with S00.252D (Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S00.252A and S00.252D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.

Relationship

Review

Encounter relationship

S00.252A

Initial encounter

Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, initial encounter

↔

S00.252D

Subsequent encounter

Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, subsequent encounter

Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

The 7th character records the phase of care for the encounter being coded, so a single encounter takes one of these characters, not several. Review whether both phases belong on the same episode of care.

Source: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a

Can these codes be reported together?

Same injury, other encounter phase. S00.252A and S00.252D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.

The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.

Side by side

	S00.252ASuperficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, initial encounter	S00.252DSuperficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, subsequent encounter
Billing status	Billable	Billable
Classification	S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)	S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
Definition	Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S00.252A).	Superficial foreign body of left eyelid and periocular area, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S00.252D).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S00	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S00
Includes	injuries of ear injuries of eye injuries of face [any part] injuries of gum	injuries of ear injuries of eye injuries of face [any part] injuries of gum

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources