S11.21 vs S27.8

S11.21 (Laceration without foreign body of pharynx and cervical esophagus) compared with S27.8 (Injury of other specified intrathoracic organs), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Relationship

Conflict

Excludes1 conflict

S11.21

Laceration without foreign body of pharynx and cervical esophagus

↔

S27.8

Injury of other specified intrathoracic organs

Not coded here — these two are mutually exclusive.

“open wound of esophagus NOS (S27.8-)”

An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur together, so the pair should not be reported for the same encounter. The sole exception is when the conditions are documented as unrelated to each other.

Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. S11.21 carries an Excludes1 note covering S27.8: “open wound of esophagus NOS (S27.8-)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Side by side

	S11.21Laceration without foreign body of pharynx and cervical esophagus	S27.8Injury of other specified intrathoracic organs
Billing status	Non-billable header	Non-billable header
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	Laceration without foreign body of pharynx and cervical esophagus is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S11.21).	Injury of other specified intrathoracic organs is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S27.8).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S11	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S27
Includes	injuries of nape injuries of supraclavicular region injuries of throat	injuries of breast injuries of chest (wall) injuries of interscapular area

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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