S31.120A vs S31.120D

S31.120A (Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, initial encounter) compared with S31.120D (Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S31.120A and S31.120D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.

Relationship

Review

Encounter relationship

S31.120A

Initial encounter

Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, initial encounter

↔

S31.120D

Subsequent encounter

Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, subsequent encounter

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. S31.120A and S31.120D 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

	S31.120ALaceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, initial encounter	S31.120DLaceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, subsequent encounter
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	Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S31.120A).	Laceration of abdominal wall with foreign body, right upper quadrant without penetration into peritoneal cavity, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S31.120D).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S31	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S31
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

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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