Is S81.831 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

No. S81.831 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.

Where does S81.831 sit in the tabular list?

Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the knee and lower leg (S80-S89).

What cannot be coded together with S81.831?

S81.831 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above S81.831 (S81) and apply to it just the same.

S81.831

S81.831 — Puncture wound without foreign body, right lower leg

Non-billable headerICD-10-CMright

S81.831 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for puncture wound without foreign body, right lower leg. 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 S81

A: initial encounter
D: subsequent encounter
S: sequela

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above S81.831

These are not written on S81.831, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing S81.831 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on S81 — Open wound of knee and lower leg

open fracture of knee and lower leg (S82.-)
traumatic amputation of lower leg (S88.-)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above S81.831

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of S81.831, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on S81 — Open wound of knee and lower leg

open wound of ankle and foot (S91.-)

Risk adjustment

S81.831 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.

How S81.831 is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to S81.831.

Puncture›leg›right

Code history

S81.831 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Code to one of these instead S81.831

3 child codes. Green means billable.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share S81.83. If S81.831 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about S81.831

Is S81.831 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: No. S81.831 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
Where does S81.831 sit in the tabular list?: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Injuries to the knee and lower leg (S80-S89).
What cannot be coded together with S81.831?: S81.831 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above S81.831 (S81) and apply to it just the same.