S97.121A (Crushing injury of right lesser toe(s), initial encounter) compared with S97.121S (Crushing injury of right lesser toe(s), sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S97.121A and S97.121S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.
The 7th character records the phase of care for the encounter being coded, so a single encounter takes one of these characters, not several. Review whether both phases belong on the same episode of care.
Source: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a
Same injury, other encounter phase. S97.121A and S97.121S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.
The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.
| S97.121ACrushing injury of right lesser toe(s), initial encounter | S97.121SCrushing injury of right lesser toe(s), sequela | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| 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 | Crushing injury of right lesser toe(s), initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S97.121A). | Crushing injury of right lesser toe(s), sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S97.121S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S97 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S97 |
| Use additional code | code(s) for all associated injuries | code(s) for all associated injuries |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources