S21.35 — Open bite of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
S21.35 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for open bite of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below. This code also requires a 7th character before it is complete.
This code requires a 7th character
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S21
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
Excludes1 — never code together
These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.
- superficial bite of front wall of thorax (S20.37)
Risk adjustment
S21.35 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.
Code to one of these instead S21.35
3 child codes. Green means billable.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share S21.3. If S21.35 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
- S21.30Unspecified open wound of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
- S21.31Laceration without foreign body of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
- S21.32Laceration with foreign body of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
- S21.33Puncture wound without foreign body of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
- S21.34Puncture wound with foreign body of front wall of thorax with penetration into thoracic cavity
Questions about S21.35
- Is S21.35 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. S21.35 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does S21.35 sit in the tabular list?
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the thorax (S20-S29).
- What cannot be coded together with S21.35?
- S21.35 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.