Open wound of knee and lower leg (S81) ICD-10-CM

Code Also

A "code also" note instructs that two codes may be required to fully describe a condition, but this note does not provide sequencing direction.

• any associated wound infection

Type 1 Excludes

A type 1 excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.

• open fracture of knee and lower leg S82
• traumatic amputation of lower leg S88

Type 2 Excludes

A type 2 excludes note represents "Not included here". An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

• open wound of ankle and foot S91

7th Character Note

Certain ICD-10-CM categories have applicable 7th characters. The applicable 7th character is required for all codes within the category, or as the notes in the Tabular List instruct. The 7th character must always be the 7th character in the data field. If a code that requires a 7th character is not 6 characters, a placeholder X must be used to fill in the empty characters.

• The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S81

7th Character

Indicates that a seventh character is to be assigned to codes in a subcategory.

• A - initial encounter
• D - subsequent encounter
• S - sequela