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S21.301 vs S21.309

S21.301 (Unspecified open wound of right front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity) compared with S21.309 (Unspecified open wound of unspecified front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity), from the official CMS tabular data. S21.301 and S21.309 code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S21.301
Right
Unspecified open wound of right front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
↔
S21.309
Unspecified
Unspecified open wound of unspecified front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity

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. S21.301 and S21.309 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

S21.301Unspecified open wound of right front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavityS21.309Unspecified open wound of unspecified front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
Billing statusNon-billable headerNon-billable header
ClassificationS00-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)
DefinitionUnspecified open wound of right front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S21.301).Unspecified open wound of unspecified front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S21.309).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S21The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S21
Includes
injuries of breast
injuries of chest (wall)
injuries of interscapular area
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