T34.011A (Frostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, initial encounter) compared with T34.011S (Frostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. T34.011A and T34.011S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment. MedCoder-derived
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. T34.011A and T34.011S 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.
| T34.011AFrostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, initial encounter | T34.011SFrostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, sequela | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes |
| Definition | Frostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T34.011A). | Frostbite with tissue necrosis of right ear, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T34.011S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T34 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T34 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources