ICD-9 Code 804.51

Open fractures involving skull or face with other bones, without mention of intracranial injury, with no loss of consciousness

Not Valid for Submission

804.51 is a legacy non-billable code used to specify a medical diagnosis of open fractures involving skull or face with other bones, without mention of intracranial injury, with no loss of consciousness. This code was replaced on September 30, 2015 by its ICD-10 equivalent.

ICD-9: 804.51
Short Description:Opn skul/oth fx w/o coma
Long Description:Open fractures involving skull or face with other bones, without mention of intracranial injury, with no loss of consciousness

Convert 804.51 to ICD-10

The following crosswalk between ICD-9 to ICD-10 is based based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMS) information:

  • S02.91XB - Unspecified fracture of skull, init encntr for open fracture

Code Classification

  • Injury and poisoning (800–999)
    • Fracture of skull (800-804)
      • 804 Multiple fractures involving skull or face with other bones

Information for Medical Professionals

Information for Patients


Facial Injuries and Disorders

Face injuries and disorders can cause pain and affect how you look. In severe cases, they can affect sight, speech, breathing and your ability to swallow. Fractures (broken bones), especially in the bones of your nose, cheekbone and jaw, are common facial injuries.

Certain diseases also lead to facial disorders. For example, nerve diseases like trigeminal neuralgia or Bell's palsy sometimes cause facial pain, spasms and trouble with eye or facial movement. Birth defects can also affect the face. They can cause underdeveloped or unusually prominent facial features or a lack of facial expression. Cleft lip and palate are a common facial birth defect.


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Head Injuries

Chances are you've bumped your head before. Often, the injury is minor because your skull is hard and it protects your brain. But other head injuries can be more severe, such as a skull fracture, concussion, or traumatic brain injury.

Head injuries can be open or closed. A closed injury does not break through the skull. With an open, or penetrating, injury, an object pierces the skull and enters the brain. Closed injuries are not always less severe than open injuries.

Some common causes of head injuries are falls, motor vehicle accidents, violence, and sports injuries.

It is important to know the warning signs of a moderate or severe head injury. Get help immediately if the injured person has:

  • A headache that gets worse or does not go away
  • Repeated vomiting or nausea
  • Convulsions or seizures
  • An inability to wake up
  • Dilated (enlarged) pupil in one or both eyes
  • Slurred speech
  • Weakness or numbness in the arms or legs
  • Loss of coordination
  • Increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation

Doctors use a neurologic exam and imaging tests to make a diagnosis. Treatment depends on the type of injury and how severe it is.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke


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ICD-9 Footnotes

General Equivalence Map Definitions
The ICD-9 and ICD-10 GEMs are used to facilitate linking between the diagnosis codes in ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM code set. The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs.

  • Approximate Flag - The approximate flag is on, indicating that the relationship between the code in the source system and the code in the target system is an approximate equivalent.
  • No Map Flag - The no map flag indicates that a code in the source system is not linked to any code in the target system.
  • Combination Flag - The combination flag indicates that more than one code in the target system is required to satisfy the full equivalent meaning of a code in the source system.