S53.115A (Anterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, initial encounter) compared with S53.115S (Anterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S53.115A and S53.115S 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. S53.115A and S53.115S 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.
| S53.115AAnterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, initial encounter | S53.115SAnterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, 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 | Anterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S53.115A). | Anterior dislocation of left ulnohumeral joint, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S53.115S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S53 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S53 |
| Includes | avulsion of joint or ligament of elbow laceration of cartilage, joint or ligament of elbow sprain of cartilage, joint or ligament of elbow traumatic hemarthrosis of joint or ligament of elbow | avulsion of joint or ligament of elbow laceration of cartilage, joint or ligament of elbow sprain of cartilage, joint or ligament of elbow traumatic hemarthrosis of joint or ligament of elbow |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources