S40.852A (Superficial foreign body of left upper arm, initial encounter) compared with S40.859A (Superficial foreign body of unspecified upper arm, initial encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S40.852A and S40.859A code the same condition on opposite sides. MedCoder-derived
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)
Same condition, opposite side. S40.852A and S40.859A 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.
| S40.852ASuperficial foreign body of left upper arm, initial encounter | S40.859ASuperficial foreign body of unspecified upper arm, initial 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 | Superficial foreign body of left upper arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S40.852A). | Superficial foreign body of unspecified upper arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S40.859A). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S40 | The 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