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S00.451A vs S00.452A

S00.451A (Superficial foreign body of right ear, initial encounter) compared with S00.452A (Superficial foreign body of left ear, initial encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S00.451A and S00.452A code the same condition on opposite sides. MedCoder-derived

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S00.451A
Right
Superficial foreign body of right ear, initial encounter
S00.452A
Left
Superficial foreign body of left ear, initial encounter

Same condition; these differ only in which side is documented.

These codes share a category and title and differ only in the side affected. The documentation decides which applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

Source: ICD-10-CM tabular list (laterality variant derived from the code title)

Can these codes be reported together?

Same condition, opposite side. S00.451A and S00.452A name the same condition on opposite sides of the body.

Same category and title, differing only in which side is affected — the documentation decides which one applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

Side by side

S00.451ASuperficial foreign body of right ear, initial encounterS00.452ASuperficial foreign body of left ear, initial encounter
Billing statusBillableBillable
ClassificationS00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causesS00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
DefinitionSuperficial foreign body of right ear, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S00.451A).Superficial foreign body of left ear, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S00.452A).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S00The 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

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