S01.449A vs S01.449S

S01.449A (Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, initial encounter) compared with S01.449S (Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S01.449A and S01.449S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.

Relationship

Review

Encounter relationship

S01.449A

Initial encounter

Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, initial encounter

↔

S01.449S

Sequela

Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, sequela

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. S01.449A and S01.449S 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

	S01.449APuncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, initial encounter	S01.449SPuncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, sequela
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	Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S01.449A).	Puncture wound with foreign body of unspecified cheek and temporomandibular area, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S01.449S).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S01	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S01
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