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S52.612A vs S52.612M

S52.612A (Displaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S52.612M (Displaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion), from the official CMS tabular data. S52.612A and S52.612M code the same injury at a different phase of treatment. MedCoder-derived

Can these codes be reported together?

Review

Encounter relationship

S52.612A
Initial encounter
Displaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, initial encounter for closed fracture
↔
S52.612M
Subsequent encounter
Displaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion

What we found

Same injury, other encounter phase.S52.612A and S52.612M 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.

What to review

Use the 7th character that matches the encounter being coded (initial, subsequent or sequela); one encounter takes one of them.

Guide: 7th characters: initial, subsequent, sequelaCheck these on a claim

Why it matters

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 / rule

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a

Side by side

S52.612ADisplaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, initial encounter for closed fractureS52.612MDisplaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion
Billing statusBillableBillable
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)
DefinitionDisplaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.612A).Displaced fracture of left ulna styloid process, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.612M).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52
Excludes1
traumatic amputation of forearm (S58.-)
traumatic amputation of forearm (S58.-)
Excludes2
fracture at wrist and hand level (S62.-)
periprosthetic fracture around internal prosthetic elbow joint (M97.4)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
injuries of wrist and hand (S60-S69)
insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)
fracture at wrist and hand level (S62.-)
periprosthetic fracture around internal prosthetic elbow joint (M97.4)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
injuries of wrist and hand (S60-S69)
insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources