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S90.542 vs S90.549

S90.542 (External constriction, left ankle) compared with S90.549 (External constriction, unspecified ankle), from the official CMS tabular data. S90.542 and S90.549 code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S90.542
Left
External constriction, left ankle
S90.549
Unspecified
External constriction, unspecified ankle

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. S90.542 and S90.549 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

S90.542External constriction, left ankleS90.549External constriction, unspecified ankle
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: S90.542A, S90.542D, S90.542S

Non-billable header

Report instead: S90.549A, S90.549D, S90.549S

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)
DefinitionExternal constriction, left ankle is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S90.542).External constriction, unspecified ankle is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S90.549).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S90The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S90

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