S51.059A (Open bite, unspecified elbow, initial encounter) compared with S51.059S (Open bite, unspecified elbow, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S51.059A and S51.059S 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. S51.059A and S51.059S 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.
| S51.059AOpen bite, unspecified elbow, initial encounter | S51.059SOpen bite, unspecified elbow, 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 | Open bite, unspecified elbow, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S51.059A). | Open bite, unspecified elbow, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S51.059S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S51 | The 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