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S40.252 vs S40.259

S40.252 (Superficial foreign body of left shoulder) compared with S40.259 (Superficial foreign body of unspecified shoulder), from the official CMS tabular data. S40.252 and S40.259 code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S40.252
Left
Superficial foreign body of left shoulder
S40.259
Unspecified
Superficial foreign body of unspecified shoulder

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. S40.252 and S40.259 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

S40.252Superficial foreign body of left shoulderS40.259Superficial foreign body of unspecified shoulder
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)
DefinitionSuperficial foreign body of left shoulder is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S40.252).Superficial foreign body of unspecified shoulder is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S40.259).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S40The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S40
Includes
injuries of axilla
injuries of scapular region
injuries of axilla
injuries of scapular region

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources