S30.851A (Superficial foreign body of abdominal wall, initial encounter) compared with S30.851S (Superficial foreign body of abdominal wall, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S30.851A and S30.851S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
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
Same injury, other encounter phase. S30.851A and S30.851S 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.
| S30.851ASuperficial foreign body of abdominal wall, initial encounter | S30.851SSuperficial foreign body of abdominal wall, 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 | Superficial foreign body of abdominal wall, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S30.851A). | Superficial foreign body of abdominal wall, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S30.851S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S30 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S30 |
| Includes | injuries to the abdominal wall injuries to the anus injuries to the buttock injuries to the external genitalia | injuries to the abdominal wall injuries to the anus injuries to the buttock injuries to the external genitalia |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources