# foreign body help, please?



## solocoder (Oct 28, 2016)

Can someone tell me when it is appropriate to use S90.852S (superficial foreign body, sequela) vs. M79.5 (residual foreign body in soft tissue)?  And what is considered "superficial"?


----------



## danskangel313 (Oct 28, 2016)

solocoder said:


> Can someone tell me when it is appropriate to use S90.852S (superficial foreign body, sequela) vs. M79.5 (residual foreign body in soft tissue)?  And what is considered "superficial"?



"A superficial injury of the ankle, foot, and/or toes involves a minimal scrape, cut, blister, bite, bruise, external constriction, foreign body, or other minor wound due to trauma or surgery."

S90.852 is an injury code for a superficial foreign body, left foot. The foreign body (splinter) would be present without a major open wound and without infection. 

S90.852S would identify an encounter for late effects of the injury. If a patient has a "complication" due to the splinter injury, encounters to address and treat the "complication" would be coded as S90.852S. The splinter injury would have to be the primary, sole source of the late effect.

M79.5 is a diagnosis for a residual or retained foreign body that is trapped in the soft tissues beneath the skin (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, fat, etc).


----------

