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S51.022 vs S51.029

S51.022 (Laceration with foreign body of left elbow) compared with S51.029 (Laceration with foreign body of unspecified elbow), from the official CMS tabular data. S51.022 and S51.029 code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S51.022
Left
Laceration with foreign body of left elbow
S51.029
Unspecified
Laceration with foreign body of unspecified elbow

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. S51.022 and S51.029 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

S51.022Laceration with foreign body of left elbowS51.029Laceration with foreign body of unspecified elbow
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: S51.022A, S51.022D, S51.022S

Non-billable header

Report instead: S51.029A, S51.029D, S51.029S

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)
DefinitionLaceration with foreign body of left elbow is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S51.022).Laceration with foreign body of unspecified elbow is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S51.029).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S51The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S51

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