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S56.197A vs S56.198A

S56.197A (Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of right little finger at forearm level, initial encounter) compared with S56.198A (Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S56.197A and S56.198A code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S56.197A
Right
Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of right little finger at forearm level, initial encounter
S56.198A
Left
Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter

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. S56.197A and S56.198A 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

S56.197AOther injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of right little finger at forearm level, initial encounterS56.198AOther injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter
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)
DefinitionOther injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of right little finger at forearm level, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S56.197A).Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S56.198A).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S56The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S56

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