S70.37 vs S71.15
S70.37 (Other superficial bite of thigh) compared with S71.15 (Open bite of thigh), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. S70.37 carries an Excludes1 note covering S71.15: “open bite of thigh (S71.15)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
No — do not report together. S71.15 carries an Excludes1 note covering S70.37: “superficial bite of thigh (S70.37-)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| S70.37Other superficial bite of thigh | S71.15Open bite of thigh | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header Report instead: S70.371A, S70.371D, S70.371S, S70.372A, S70.372D | Non-billable header Report instead: S71.151A, S71.151D, S71.151S, S71.152A, S71.152D |
| 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 | Other superficial bite of thigh is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S70.37). | Open bite of thigh is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S71.15). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S70 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S71 |
| Includes | — | Bite of thigh NOS |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources