S81.021 (Laceration with foreign body, right knee) compared with S81.022 (Laceration with foreign body, left knee), from the official CMS tabular data. S81.021 and S81.022 code the same condition on opposite sides.
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)
Same condition, opposite side. S81.021 and S81.022 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.
| S81.021Laceration with foreign body, right knee | S81.022Laceration with foreign body, left knee | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Non-billable header |
| 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 | Laceration with foreign body, right knee is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S81.021). | Laceration with foreign body, left knee is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S81.022). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S81 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S81 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources