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S72.023Q vs S79.01

S72.023Q (Displaced fracture of epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion) compared with S79.01 (Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes should not be reported together because S72.023Q’s tabular entry lists S79.01 under Excludes1.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named and billing status.S72.023Q is “Displaced fracture of epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion”; S79.01 is “Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur”. S79.01 is a non-billable header; S72.023Q is billable.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

No.S72.023Q’s entry carries an Excludes1 note covering S79.01: “capital femoral epiphyseal fracture (pediatric) of femur (S79.01-)”. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

Yes.S72.023Q’s tabular entry: “capital femoral epiphyseal fracture (pediatric) of femur (S79.01-)”. The note covers S79.01.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.S72.023Q’s tabular entry: “physeal fracture of upper end of femur (S79.0-)”. The note covers S79.01.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one more specific?

Not comparable.The codes sit in different categories; specificity is only comparable within one category.

Is one a parent or header code?

One is a header.S79.01 is a non-billable header, but S72.023Q is not one of its subdivisions.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Excludes1 — generally not reported together

Excludes1 conflict

S72.023Q
Displaced fracture of epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion
↔
S79.01
Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur

What we found

No — do not report together.S72.023Q carries an Excludes1 note covering S79.01: “capital femoral epiphyseal fracture (pediatric) of femur (S79.01-)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

What to review

Report one of the two. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes1 note means the two conditions are not ordinarily reported together for the same encounter, because the classification treats them as mutually exclusive forms of the same condition. The documented exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a

Informational

Excludes2 relationship

S72.023Q
Displaced fracture of epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion
↔
S79.01
Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.S72.023Q carries an Excludes2 note covering S79.01: “physeal fracture of upper end of femur (S79.0-)”

Excludes2 marks distinct conditions — both may be reported when both are documented.

What to review

Report both only when the documentation supports both conditions; otherwise report the one documented.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of the code above it, but a patient can have both. Report both when both are documented.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.a — Excludes1 · applies to: Excludes1

    A type 1 Excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means “NOT CODED HERE!” An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition. An exception to the Excludes1 definition is the circumstance when the two conditions are unrelated to each other. If it is not clear whether the two conditions involving an Excludes1 note are related or not, query the provider. For example, code F45.8, Other somatoform disorders, has an Excludes1 note for "sleep related teeth grinding (G47.63)," because "teeth grinding" is an inclusion term under F45.8. Only one of these two codes should be assigned for teeth grinding. However psychogenic dysmenorrhea is also an inclusion term under F45.8, and a patient could have both this condition and sleep related teeth grinding. In this case, the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, and so it would be appropriate to report F45.8 and G47.63 together.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2026

  • Section I.A.12.b — Excludes2 · applies to: Excludes2

    A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2026

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

S72.023QDisplaced fracture of epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunionS79.01Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur
Billing statusBillableNon-billable header

Report instead: S79.011A, S79.011D, S79.011G, S79.011K, S79.011P

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 epiphysis (separation) (upper) of unspecified femur, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S72.023Q).Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S79.01).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S72The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from subcategories S79.0 and S79.1
Includes—
Acute on chronic slipped capital femoral epiphysis (traumatic)
Acute slipped capital femoral epiphysis (traumatic)
Capital femoral epiphyseal fracture
Excludes1
capital femoral epiphyseal fracture (pediatric) of femur (S79.01-)
Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of upper end of femur (S79.01-)
traumatic amputation of hip and thigh (S78.-)
chronic slipped upper femoral epiphysis (nontraumatic) (M93.02-)
apophyseal fracture of upper end of femur (S72.13-)
nontraumatic slipped upper femoral epiphysis (M93.0-)
Excludes2
physeal fracture of lower end of femur (S79.1-)
physeal fracture of upper end of femur (S79.0-)
fracture of lower leg and ankle (S82.-)
fracture of foot (S92.-)
periprosthetic fracture of prosthetic implant of hip (M97.0-)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
snake bite (T63.0-)
venomous insect bite or sting (T63.4-)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
snake bite (T63.0-)
venomous insect bite or sting (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 (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources